Annie Andrews Flips South Carolina Senate Seat in Upset Over Darline Graham

COLUMBIA, S.C. (Orbit Post) Democrat Annie Andrews won South Carolina's U.S. Senate race on Tuesday, defeating Republican Sen. Darline Graham in what USA Today called arguably the biggest upset of the 2026 midterms.

NBC News and Decision Desk HQ called the race for Andrews less than three hours after polls closed. CBS News also projected Andrews the winner. The Associated Press had not called the race in its results feed, where Andrews led with 925,013 votes to 850,123 for Graham, with 77.47 percent of precincts reporting and an estimated 87 percent of the vote counted.

Andrews, 45, is a pediatrician and a mother of three. She is the first Democrat to win a Senate race in South Carolina since 1998, ending nearly three decades of Republican wins in the state.

A seat held by the Graham family

The seat was long held by Sen. Lindsey Graham, a leading Republican voice on national security. He died on July 11 at age 71. Gov. Henry McMaster appointed Graham's sister, Darline Graham, 62, to fill the seat. The appointment made her the first woman to represent South Carolina in the U.S. Senate.

Darline Graham won a Republican primary runoff in August to seek a full six-year term. She campaigned on immigration enforcement, gun rights and opposition to abortion. President Donald Trump endorsed her and campaigned alongside her in the final stretch, in a state he carried by nearly 18 percentage points in 2024.

Darline Graham's path to the general election ran through a crowded Republican field. She was the top vote getter in the August primary, ahead of U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, U.S. Rep. Russell Fry, former Gov. Mark Sanford and businessman Mark Lynch, and she beat Norman in the runoff two weeks later, according to the Greenville News. Andrews, for her part, watched the returns with supporters in Charleston, the Greenville News reported.

A race that tightened late

Most experts wrote Andrews off early. The race tightened in the final weeks, and polls showed the two candidates tied in the last days of the campaign. Andrews campaigned on health care and affordability, as rising costs and anger at the national political climate cut into the Republican vote.

Outside Republican groups poured millions of dollars into the race as the contest closed. It was not enough. Andrews held her lead through the count on Tuesday night and flipped a Republican-held seat on a night when Democrats also flipped the North Carolina Senate seat and held seats in Georgia and New Hampshire.

Results remain unofficial until they are certified under South Carolina law.