Polls show U.S. Senate Race tightening
COLUMBIA, S.C. — With a little more than a month until the November election, the race to fill the late Sen. Lindsay Graham’s seat in the U.S. Senate is heating up.
A new poll released by the Trafalgar Group has Democrat Annie Andrews within striking distance of incumbent Sen. Darline Graham, who was appointed to the position after the death of her brother in July.
Trafalgar’s most recent poll was conducted between September 23 – 25 and 1,087 people responded. Nearly 60 percent of respondents identified as Republicans, close to 30 percent as Democrats, with around 11 percent as no party or other.
Asking “if the election for US Senate was held tomorrow, for whom would you most likely vote?” the group found 43.4 percent of respondents would vote for Graham and 42.3 percent would vote for Andrews, while 8.5 percent remain undecided and 5.9 percent would vote for someone else.
With almost 6% of respondents saying they would vote for another candidate and the poll’s margin of error being 2.9%, how those votes break for other candidates could play a key roll in the outcome of the race. Besides Libertarian candidate Kasie Whitener was not named in the poll, Rep. Ralph Norman has garnered some online support as a write-in candidate even though he himself has pledged to support Graham after her primary runoff victory between the two.
While Sen. Graham has had to manage campaigning and her duties in DC, Andrews has had more freedom to travel the state and campaign. Campaign insiders also noted that Andrews has also been a more forceful presence on television. Federal campaign finance data shows the Andrews campaign has spent more than $1.6 million on media production and advertising, and that’s only what’s been disclosed as of June 30. Her first general election ad debuted on Aug. 26.
Because of the special primary election and runoff, Graham’s TV spending isn’t as clear. October 15’s filing deadline for the October Quarterly report will show spending through September 30 and paint a more complete picture of both campaign’s spending thus far.
Dr. Andrews is in the Connect to the Capitol studio this week to talk about her campaign and joined Catherine Glenn Foster for a Connect to the Capitol Extra as part of our ongoing series Women in Politics.
With Trafalgar’s poll within a roughly 3 percent margin of error, a lot of attention will be on an October 11 debate in Columbia between Graham, Andrews, and Whitener.
Senate democrats call for special session on affordability
Senate Democrats at the State House are calling on lawmakers to return for a special session to address the rising cost of living for families across the state
Senate Democratic Leader Brad Hutto and Assistant Democratic Leader Ronnie Sabb addressed how families are struggling with financial pressures attached to housing, gas, groceries, utilities, and healthcare.
“South Carolinians cannot put their bills on hold until the next legislative session. Families are making difficult choices as the costs of housing, groceries, utilities, and health care rise. We should come back to Columbia, hear directly from the people affected, and work across party lines on solutions that provide meaningful relief.”
— Senate Minority Leader Brad Hutto (D-Orangeburg)
Senate Democrats are urging legislative leaders to call a special session to consider measures aimed at lowering household costs and strengthening economic security for South Carolinians.
POLITICAL PARADE IN SOUTH CAROLINA
Democrats are converging on South Carolina to campaign for midterm candidates.
South Carolina’s status as the first state in Democrats’ next presidential nominating process, is drawing White House hopefuls to the state looking to test the waters in the Palmetto State while campaigning for Democrats in the midterms.
In the next few weeks, five Democrats who are believed to be mulling 2028 campaigns — California Rep. Ro Khanna, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and longtime Democratic politico Rahm Emanuel — will be stumping here.
That’s on top of recent visits from former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore.
Ro Khanna returned to South Carolina for several days on Thursday. Meanwhile, Beshear stumped with candidates in Orangeburg and Charleston, and discussed his new book with Rep. Jim Clyburn, a longtime Democratic kingmaker.
Kelly, also did a two-day swing through the state that started on Friday with plans to campaign for candidates like Dr. Annie Andrews.
A week later, Pritzker is set to headline a fundraising dinner for the local NAACP.
And just days before early voting kicks off on Oct. 19, Emanuel — the former congressman, White House chief of staff to President Barack Obama, Chicago mayor and U.S. ambassador to Japan — has a packed South Carolina schedule. He’s talking to students on several college campuses and appearing with candidates including gubernatorial nominee Jermaine Johnson.
South Carolina has always been early in the primary calendar for both parties, but Democrats recently solidified its place at the front of the line.
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