Senator Darline Graham made her campaign pitch for six more years in office this past Monday at the Poinsett Club as she addressed several dozen members of the Upstate Republican Women.
Graham, who was appointed to her position by Governor Henry McMaster to fill the remaining months of her late brother Lindsey's term in the U.S. Senate, started her brief remarks by speaking about the “brutal” campaign schedule she kept up during the special primary season.
“Up in the morning, going all day until late at night while grieving while going to my brother's services,” she related, adding, “No one can question my strength, I don't think, because I'm very strong to make it through that, but it's only by the grace of God and prayer. My faith got me through it as well.”
She told of her and her brother Lindsey's upbringing, living with their parents in one room at the back of a bar. “I come from a humble beginning,” she said.
Graham continued to tout her common-man bona fides. “I also know the struggles of South Carolinians because there's been a time in my life for several years I lived paycheck to paycheck,” she said. She mentioned that she is a bargain shopper and that she loves buy-one-get-one-free sales. Both of her daughters have had serious health problems, she noted, adding that she understands the burden of high medical bills and medical debt.
“I want to be just as careful with taxpayers' dollars as I am with my own money,” she said, noting that families have to balance their budgets and so should the federal government. She supports a balanced budget amendment. She also said that the Trump administration has done a great job cutting fraud and waste but that there is still more to be done.
Graham said she has been working hard for the state of South Carolina for the last 30 years.
“I turned a struggling agency into a national model,” she said and added that she also served on the state's workforce and development board.
“I do have relatable experience to bring to the position,” she said. “I have been a leader and a critical thinker and a problem solver for several years.”
Graham then enunciated her conservative values. She has been endorsed by Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and the National Right to Life Committee, as well as the South Carolina Police Benevolent Association and the NRA (National Rifle Association).
“You know what I think gun control is? How steady you hold your weapon,” said Graham to laughter.
Graham asserted that boys do not belong in girls' sports and that illegal immigration is “black and white.” “If you're here illegally, you need to go,” she said. She said she will stand with Trump in his continuing effort to close the border. She also said that she opposes the 'Woke' agenda and opposes DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion).
The new Senator also mentioned the things that she has accomplished during her short term in office.
“In the few short weeks I've been there I've already accomplished a few things that I'm proud of,” she said.
Graham said she cosponsored several bills dealing with topics such as pro-life, defending women in girls' sports, immigration enforcement, border security, supporting the Second Amendment and prohibiting China from buying farmland near military bases.
Graham said that the Save America Act was the very first bill she co-sponsored and that she worked to get the Lindsey O. Graham Sanction Russia and Iran Act passed in the Senate and that she cast the deciding vote to confirm Todd Blanche for Attorney General.
The Republican nominee for a full six-year term then turned the discussion to the leftist views of her Democrat opponent, Dr. Annie Andrews, whom she described as the most radical liberal ever nominated for statewide office by the state Democratic Party.
Graham noted that Andrews helped Kamela Harris to raise millions of dollars in her attempt to defeat Trump in the 2024 presidential election and that she endorsed a candidate from Ohio who wanted to defund the police.
Andrews, said Graham, also wants gun control, supports abortion, wants to expand the Supreme Court from nine to 13 members, supports amnesty, opposes a border wall, supports trans youth and has refused to define what a woman is.
“On issue after issue,” said Graham, “Annie Andrews' views are right out of the Democratic Socialist playbook – massive government, higher taxes and less freedom.”
