The late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s sister will temporarily fill his senate seat

COLUMBIA, S.C – South Carolina has a new Senator. Governor Henry McMaster appointed Darline Graham Nordone as her late brother’s temporary replacement in the Senate. Lindsey Graham died Saturday at age 71. Doctors say he died after a ruptured aorta.

“It is such a privilege to get to finish some of his important work, and I promise to work hard over the next several months to support the president and carry forward the efforts of my brother,” Darline Graham Nordone  said.

62-year-old Nordone has worked as an optician and at various state agencies, including the South Carolina Commission for the Blind and the Department of Employment and Workforce. She lives in Lexington, graduated from the College of Charleston, and has a Master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling.

“Darline may need a little more guiding through the hallways of the Senate building and the Capitol when she does her job, but there’s going to be an effort by the folks around her to make sure she votes in the way that they believe a conservative Republican, or her brother, would have voted,” says Winthrop University Political Science Professor Scott Huffmon.

Lindsey Graham raised his sister after their parents died at a young age. He later became her legal guardian. Nordone was often by her brother’s side during his political career, speaking at events and appearing in some of his campaign ads.

Political experts say this appointment will keep the dynamic of the senate consistent but not exactly the same. “What it does mean is a lot of seniority and a lot of influence from South Carolina is going to be diminished, but not because of her appointment, because we have lost that senior senator,” Huffmon said.

Nordone says her brother was always there for her and now she says she “will be there for him.” She says, “I know Lindsey thought the world of his staff and colleagues and with their support, I feel confident. I think this is what Lindsey would’ve wanted and I plan to honor him in this way.”

Huffmon says there will be a bloody battle for the Republican Senate nomination. Candidates will have until July 28th to file. Then a special primary election will be held on August 11. That winner will then have just over two months to campaign before the general election on November 3rd.