Sen. Darline Graham Nordone will run for the full six-year term in the U.S. Senate, ending a week of speculation about whether Gov. Henry McMaster’s interim appointee would seek the seat outright. “I’ve made a decision. I’m in,” said Nordone — who goes by Graham, her family name and her late brother’s — in an exclusive Fox News “Hannity” interview from Columbia on Monday [CBS News, 2026] [CNBC, 2026]. This decision kicks off her Darline Graham Senate run and could spell trouble for Russell Fry.
The decision does one thing immediately: it flips on President Donald Trump’s endorsement. Trump had given Graham his “Complete and Total Endorsement” on July 17, but conditioned it on her actually entering the race — “should she accept” [SC Daily Gazette, 2026] [The Hill, 2026]. She has now accepted. The July 20 announcement makes Trump’s backing operative and reshapes the Aug. 11 Republican special primary around a single fault line: Graham is the president’s candidate, and Horry County’s own congressman, Rep. Russell Fry, is running against her.
Airing tonight at 9 p.m. of Fox News
One precision point matters for readers tracking the calendar. Graham has declared her intent, but she has not filed. The filing window opens at noon on July 21 and closes July 28, so she is a stated candidate, not yet a name on the ballot [CBS News, 2026] [Roll Call, 2026].
As the election approaches, the buzz around her Darline Graham Senate run intensifies across South Carolina.
Darline Graham Senate Run: What to Expect
What Graham Actually Said
Graham’s announcement came in the interview, not in the open letter to constituents her office released the same weekend. That letter, themed “Time to step up,” stopped short of an outright declaration and is largely paywalled; the Hannity sit-down is the actual announcement [CBS News, 2026] [Baltimore Sun, 2026].
Her framing leaned personal rather than ideological. “I have been praying a lot, talking to my family. I know I’m a hard worker. I learned that from Lindsey. I feel like I can do it,” Graham said, invoking her late brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, who died July 11 [CBS News, 2026]. She added that she felt “an inner peace about it,” while acknowledging the difficulty ahead: “Will it be difficult? Yes. Absolutely” [CNBC, 2026].
The relationship is central to her story. Lindsey Graham, nine years her senior, became Darline’s legal guardian and later adopted her after their parents died in the mid-1970s [Wikipedia, 2026]. McMaster appointed her to the seat on July 13; she was sworn in July 14, with the oath administered by Sen. Chuck Grassley, and she serves through Jan. 3, 2027 [SC Gov. McMaster, 2026] [Wikipedia, 2026]. She is the first woman to represent South Carolina in the U.S. Senate [SC Gov. McMaster, 2026].
Graham, 62, has spent roughly three decades in South Carolina public service — most recently as a commissioner on the SC Commission for the Blind since 2019 — but has never held elected office [Wikipedia, 2026]. That combination, a sitting senator with no campaign record, is unusual, and it is the raw material both her supporters and her rivals will work with.
The Endorsement That Was Waiting
Trump’s endorsement was written to activate on exactly this decision. In his July 17 Truth Social post, he said Graham “has been a WINNER all of her life and, should she accept, has my Complete and Total Endorsement in the Special Election for U.S. Senate in South Carolina — SHE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN [NBC News, 2026]. He said he had personally asked her “to run for the U.S. Senate in the Special Republican Primary,” and closed with “RUN, DARLINE, RUN!” [Axios, 2026].
No new Trump statement followed her acceptance in the hours after the announcement; the endorsement in play is still the July 17 post, now made operative by her entry [CNBC, 2026]. That is the accurate way to read it — not as a fresh intervention, but as a standing pledge that her “I’m in” switched on.
The power of that endorsement in a South Carolina Republican primary is hard to overstate, and it is why the field’s response is the real news. Trump is functioning as kingmaker in a race for the seat his longtime ally held for more than two decades. A Furman political scientist projected the endorsement could vault Graham to front-runner status, though that is analyst opinion rather than measured support [CNBC, 2026].
It is also not uncontested. FITSNews, a South Carolina outlet with a pronounced editorial slant, reported that the White House had seen internal polling framing Graham as a “non-starter” even with Trump’s backing, and that Trump had earlier floated Fry himself [FITSNews, 2026]. Those claims are reported, not settled, and they cut against treating Graham as a lock. A conditional endorsement made real is a powerful asset. It is not the same as a cleared field.
A Field the Endorsement Did Not Clear
The clearest signal that this primary is live is that the endorsement scared off almost no one. Fry declared the same day as Graham, July 20, casting the race as “a choice and not a coronation” and pledging to “fight alongside the president just as steadfastly” as Lindsey Graham did [Roll Call, 2026] [Washington Times, 2026]. He built his launch around affordability — gas prices, grocery costs — rather than any attack on Trump [Roll Call, 2026].
Rep. Ralph Norman entered two days earlier, on July 18, and was pointed about the president’s pick: “He decided to go with Darline, who’s a nice person… And so I respect that,” Norman said, without standing down [Roll Call, 2026]. Businessman Mark Lynch, who challenged Lindsey Graham in the June primary, is also in, as is attorney Duke Buckner [Roll Call, 2026]. Rep. Nancy Mace is still weighing a bid but has not declared, and Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and former Gov. Mark Sanford have been floated [The Hill, 2026].
The primary math favors Graham but does not settle the outcome. She enters with two advantages no rival holds — the Trump endorsement and the title of sitting senator. But Fry, Norman and Lynch are all competing for the same anti-establishment, Trump-aligned voters, splitting the lane that would otherwise consolidate against her. In a five- or six-candidate field, a candidate wins outright only with a majority — more than 50 percent — and otherwise the top two advance to an Aug. 25 runoff, a format that can reward a candidate with a devoted base as easily as a broadly acceptable one.
One number readers will see quoted deserves a caveat. The only public poll, from Emerson College on July 14–15, showed no clear leader and placed Graham at 6 percent [Emerson College Polling, 2026]. That survey was taken before Trump’s endorsement and before the candidates announced. It is a pre-endorsement snapshot, not a measure of where the race stands now, and it should not be read as her current standing [Emerson College Polling, 2026].
What It Means for Horry County
For the Grand Strand, the sharpest edge of this story is Fry. He is Horry County’s congressman, a Surfside Beach native representing the 7th District, and he is now running directly against the president’s endorsed, sitting-interim senator [Roll Call, 2026] [Washington Times, 2026]. That is a materially harder path than the one many local voters expected him to walk — with the endorsement rather than into it.
It also sets up a MAGA-versus-MAGA choice for coastal Republicans. Both Graham and Fry claim the Trump-aligned mantle; only one has the actual endorsement. Fry’s bet is that a disciplined, affordability-focused message and his record can outweigh a nod that came late and, by his framing, amounts to a coronation [Washington Times, 2026]. Norman’s presence complicates that bet by dividing the same Freedom Caucus-adjacent vote Fry needs.
The downstream local consequence runs through the 7th District seat itself. If Fry vacates SC-7 to serve in the Senate, the seat opens, and state Rep. Case Brittain, a Myrtle Beach Republican, is reportedly eyeing it [MyHorryNews, 2026]. The prospect of a temporarily vacant Grand Strand House seat is precisely the vulnerability Norman and Mace have attacked in Fry’s candidacy [Roll Call, 2026]. Whether that argument moves coastal voters is unknown; no local outlet has yet published dedicated Grand Strand reaction to the Fry-versus-Graham matchup, and this account draws its local stakes from statewide and national reporting [MyHorryNews, 2026].
This chapter also resolves a question left open in our prior coverage. As we reported when Fry announced, there was unconfirmed word that Graham might forgo the race, potentially opening the door for Trump to swing behind Fry. That possibility, correctly labeled as unverified at the time, is now closed: Graham is running [CBS News, 2026].
What to Watch
The next eight days convert declarations into ballots. Watch whether Graham files by the July 28 deadline as expected, and whether Fry files for the Senate alone or also moves to defend his House seat — the decision that determines whether the SC-7 succession scramble begins. Watch whether Mace joins or stays out, because a sixth serious name changes the runoff math.
Filing opens at noon Tuesday, July 21. The special Republican primary is Aug. 11, with a runoff Aug. 25 if no candidate clears a majority, and the nominee faces Democrat Annie Andrews in the Nov. 3 general election [Roll Call, 2026] [Ballotpedia, 2026]. Grand Strand voters now face a question with real weight for their own representation: back the president’s pick, or back their own congressman running against him.
Entire Transcript of Sean Hannity Interview with Darline Graham Nordone
SEAN HANNITY INTERVIEW WITH NORDONE
VIDEOS: https://www.foxnews.com/video/6401688598112 https://www.foxnews.com/video/6401688598112 https://www.foxnews.com/video/6401692023112
TRANSCRIPT:
SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: And welcome to “Hannity”.
And tonight, major news from Iran, the new socialist, radical, even communist Democratic Party.
And we will preview my podcast with Clavicular. May have to look that up, some of you.
But we do begin tonight in Columbia, South Carolina, where earlier today I sat down with Senator Darline Graham for her very first TV interview since the passing of her brother, the late great Senator Lindsey Graham, and her appointment to fill his seat through the end of this term.
Now, we covered a wide range of topics, including her future plans in the Palmetto State after President Trump now encouraging her to run for her brother’s open seat in the U.S. Senate.
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HANNITY: Senator Darline Graham, it’s an honor to — and an honor to have you sit down with us today. I wish for you and for Lindsey, my friend, under better circumstances.
It’s hard to believe it’s only been a week, and what a whirlwind week you have now lived. How’re you holding up?
SEN. DARLINE GRAHAM (R-SC): I’m just taking it day by day. I’m not going to lie, it’s been tough.
HANNITY: Yeah.
GRAHAM: Extremely tough.
Lots of prayers, heartfelt messages from friends and family, colleagues, really got me through this week.
HANNITY: Yeah, and there’s still a lot to go.
GRAHAM: Oh, yeah.
HANNITY: You know, you don’t have one funeral service, you have two.
You know, you described Lindsey, well, I was very close to, I don’t know, to the extent you know, but we talk late into the night often about everything. Whether we agreed or disagreed, and we had the best conversations and had a wicked sense of humor.
And — but I think we really have to start with, you know, both of you had a life in a lot of ways that was tragic. You lost your mom to cancer. Not long after, you lost your dad.
GRAHAM: Uh-huh.
HANNITY: You’re only 13 years old.
GRAHAM: Right.
HANNITY: He’s 21.
GRAHAM: Uh-huh.
HANNITY: And you described Lindsey as brother, mother, and father. Explain that.
GRAHAM: Well, like you said, we had some tragedies. Our mother passed away. I was 11. It was three days before my birthday. So that was extremely tough.
And, you know, just over a year later, we lost our father, tragically, suddenly. And so, Lindsey had to become everything to me. I can remember when it happened.
He took me in his arms. He hugged me. He said, “Don’t worry. I’m going to take care of you.”
And I believed him. I knew that was going to be true, the case, but it was very, very difficult.
And here at that point, I’m 13 years old. So he’s my father figure. And when I say he’s my mother, I’m a young lady transitioning into a young adult. So there’s things that you know, he had to take on that someone his age would never dream of.
So he was everything. He was my rock. He was my brother, my mother, and my father.
HANNITY: He was still, in many ways, a kid himself.
GRAHAM: Absolutely.
HANNITY: At 21, you’re just beginning to find yourself in life.
What was he like in that leadership role? Because he did step up.
GRAHAM: He did.
HANNITY: What was he like?
GRAHAM: He was very strong. I mean, at one point he said, “I’ll quit school. I’ll come home. I’ll run the bar, the liquor store, and we’ll live in the house.”
And I was like, you can’t do that. That’s not what our parents would have wanted. He was the first in our family to go to college. And we were so proud of him. My mother was so proud of him. So, I’m like, that — you can’t.
And so I went to a nearby town to live with an aunt and uncle. But Lindsey came home every weekend, every weekend. He called throughout the week. If I wanted to go to the movies with a friend, I called Lindsey. Lindsey gave me the money to go. So he truly was my parent.
HANNITY: Yeah. I watched an interview with him, and, you know, it was his top priority. He said at one point, when he had discussed at any point leaving school, he said, for your mom, it was a no-go zone. That was not going to happen.
GRAHAM: No way.
HANNITY: Yeah.
GRAHAM: Yeah. She was beyond proud.
I can remember when he would come home from Columbia, he would ride the bus, and she would get so excited. She was like, Lindsey’s coming home. And I would run down the street to the bus stop and greet him. So those are great days.
HANNITY: Yeah.
It’s hard to believe where you were a week ago because you were just absorbing this day, you know, the magnitude of losing your brother and the surprise of losing your brother. I mean, I actually went through the timeline of it all. And wow, I mean, I don’t know anyone that’s ever had that whirlwind of a week.
I mean, Saturday night, you find out he’s sick. Sunday, you know, by midnight, at least, that he had passed on.
I knew something was going on. My friend, Senator Tim Scott, called me at 3:00 in the morning. That’s not Tim’s usual time to call anybody.
GRAHAM: Yeah.
HANNITY: And then I looked at my phone, and I just, like, was in a state of shock that he passed on.
And then your life changed on a dime.
GRAHAM: Yes.
HANNITY: Let’s talk about the conversations you talked to on Sunday. This is the night after Lindsey passes away. Governor McMaster, Senator Scott, elected officials, President Trump. You know, everybody calls I’m sure you weren’t expecting the day before.
GRAHAM: It was just unbelievable. I mean, it was like I was living a nightmare. When I got the unexpected news, I was just — I can’t even tell you how devastated I was when I got that call. It was so hard.
And, but from there, things just started moving so fast. Like you said, I got the call from the president and the governor, Tim Scott, just — just thoughtful messages, you know, how much they respected him, true friendship.
So, and then the question, you know, would I serve? And I was just shocked. It never occurred to me.
You know, that was Lindsey’s life, not mine. Nothing I ever wanted to be a politician or a senator.
But when they asked, it didn’t take me long. I prayed. I talked to my family. And I knew that I had to step up. You know, I had to carry on his legacy.
HANNITY: In other words, you just felt at that moment unexpected calling that you never dreamed of. Is that a fair way?
(CROSSTALK)
GRAHAM: Yes, absolutely. Yeah.
HANNITY: So we get to Monday.
GRAHAM: Uh-huh.
HANNITY: Okay? Well, let me pause and say, and I know this to be the truth and a fact is there was nobody in the House or Senate that was closer to President Trump and spent more time with President Trump than your brother.
GRAHAM: Correct.
HANNITY: And I know how much that meant to him. And I know how often he talked about it. I assume he talked about a lot of that with you as well.
GRAHAM: He did. He did. I knew from Lindsey. Lindsey thought a lot of him. I knew they had developed a friendship.
HANNITY: Yeah.
GRAHAM: But — the president, you know, confirmed that. He said he was like a family member.
HANNITY: Yeah.
GRAHAM: So that — that really meant a lot to me.
HANNITY: You know, there’s a timeline that gets obviously out of your control very quickly.
GRAHAM: Yes.
HANNITY: And I’ve known Governor McMaster a long time. I’m very fond of him. I’ve known Tim Scott, a dear friend of mine.
GRAHAM: Uh-huh.
HANNITY: And then the president puts out Monday — again, you’ve had just a little over 24 hours to deal with it a week ago.
GRAHAM: Uh-huh.
HANNITY: You know, I recommended to Governor Henry McMaster that Lindsey Graham’s wonderful sister, Darline, you know, to serve as interim senator of the great state of South Carolina. This would be a fabulous tribute to Lindsey, who loved her dearly.
Talk about when you first heard that idea and what was your initial reaction. And you have a daughter that’s a senior in high school, right?
GRAHAM: Yep, she’s 17.
HANNITY: Yeah.
GRAHAM: It was — it was shock because it had never entered my mind that I would be asked that question. So it took me a minute to process it. But like I said, it didn’t take me long to realize that, I had — I felt just this inner calling. It has to be God’s plan. It has to be God’s plan that I had to carry on his legacy.
And, you know, I know how much the people of South Carolina meant to him, serving our country meant to him. And I’ve been serving the people of South Carolina for almost 30 years in my position.
HANNITY: Now, if you move and fast forward, it’s Tuesday.
GRAHAM: Yeah.
HANNITY: You’re with Henry McMaster, and he makes the announcement. And now you have to speak before the nation. Again, not a lot of time to really absorb what’s happening. This timeline is moving quickly.
It’s just — unfortunately, I think for anybody in that situation, it is the timeline. It is what it is.
GRAHAM: Uh-huh.
HANNITY: You’re talking to a governor that is asking you to do it. You’re talking to a president of our country that’s asking you to do it.
GRAHAM: Uh-huh.
HANNITY: You have to make a decision.
And, you know, then the next thing you know, you’re being sworn into the United States Senate.
GRAHAM: Yeah.
HANNITY: And now you’re a United States senator. That is a fast timeline.
GRAHAM: A very fast timeline.
HANNITY: How was that moment, because I watched you and I was actually stunned at the poise and grace and, you know, by which you were sworn in and then you spoke about your brother and with the passion that came out behind it, you could feel it.
GRAHAM: Uh-huh.
HANNITY: Was that a tough moment for you?
GRAHAM: It was tough. It was very tough.
But, you know, I prayed about it. I had support from my family. And like I said earlier, I had an inner peace about it. And it’s just something I knew I had to do. I had to carry on Lindsey’s legacy.
HANNITY: Yeah.
GRAHAM: I had to do it for him.
HANNITY: You know, I actually went back and I found an old interview that your brother did on C-SPAN. And it was in 2015 when he was doing, when he was — you know, running for president.
This is what he said, “Of all the things that’s happened in my life, Darline, my sister, turning out so well, is the highest of it by far.” And then he went on to say that if he were to win, what role would she play in the White House? I don’t know if you’re aware that he was asked that question.
GRAHAM: I must recall that.
HANNITY: And he said, “She would be a support for me.” After he’d been such a support for you, 13 is so young to lose both your parents.
GRAHAM: Oh, yeah.
HANNITY: “And at the end of the day, whatever I asked her to do, she would do.” That sounds like Lindsey to me. “If she took on, you know, a role on, she’d be a great representative of our country. I cannot think of a better person to represent our country than my sister.”
Pretty powerful and almost a little bit maybe forecasting or maybe instinctively knowing that, knowing something about you or seeing something in you and understanding something about you that he wanted to share with the country had he gotten to that position.
GRAHAM: You know, I don’t know, Sean. I just know that I have to trust that God has a plan. You know, I never wanted this. This was my brother’s life. He worked so hard for the people of South Carolina and our country. And I was so proud of him.
But, you know, if God has put me in this position, I will do it. I will take on the challenge. You know, Lindsey was always there for me, and I feel like now I need to step up and be there for him.
HANNITY: So, we have to continue with your whirlwind week. You’re a senator on Tuesday. On Thursday, you’re in the Oval Office.
GRAHAM: Yes.
HANNITY: I may be guessing that your brother took you to the Oval Office before.
GRAHAM: I’d been there one time, a pinning ceremony.
HANNITY: Well, now the President’s asking you into the Oval — inviting you into the Oval Office. My understanding is you’re met by the president, the vice president, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Stephen Witkoff —
GRAHAM: Uh-huh.
HANNITY: — and by Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.
GRAHAM: Correct.
HANNITY: I would say that’s a who’s who in Washington.
GRAHAM: Uh-huh.
HANNITY: Bring us into that meeting.
GRAHAM: I think it went very well. You know, the president was very sincere in his condolences about Lindsey. He talked about him and what a good friend he was, how he considered him family.
And, you know, I told him how much I appreciated all that he had done and, you know, how they had worked together. And then I went on to mention that there were some things that I felt like were very important to Lindsey, Russia’s sanctions, and that I really wanted to push those across the finish line.
HANNITY: So you really share the same values as your brother. You followed his career very closely.
GRAHAM: Uh-huh.
HANNITY: And I met your wonderful husband, and we have a shared passion for Waffle House. I can’t come to South Carolina and not go to Waffle House.
GRAHAM: Oh, yeah. He loves Waffle House.
HANNITY: And we talk more about Waffle House than anything else.
And now, if that week wasn’t, I guess, whirlwind enough, by, I guess it was Thursday or Friday or, you know, the president puts out, “It was my honor to welcome Senator Darline Graham, the sister of the late great Lindsey Graham, from the wonderful state of South Carolina, into the Oval Office. We have known each other for a long time. She’s a spectacular person and a true American patriot.
Lindsey was one of the greatest people, senators that I’ve ever known, and his sister shares his deep love of our country and the state of South Carolina. And during her visit, I asked Darline, for the good of our nation, to run for the U.S. Senate in the special Republican primary, which will take place not far away, August 11th.”
GRAHAM: Uh-huh.
HANNITY: I mean, his funeral is the 28th of July.
GRAHAM: I know.
HANNITY: 2026. Quote, I hope — by the way, no pressure from President Trump. “I hope Darline does this and that there would be nobody better to honor the legacy of her beloved brother, Lindsey.
And Darline, who comes from an absolutely incredible family, has been a winner her whole life. Should she accept, she will have my complete, total endorsement in the special election for the U.S. Senate in South Carolina. She will never let you down. Run — run, Darline, run.”
Were you expecting that?
GRAHAM: No, I was not expecting that, yeah.
HANNITY: Okay, so now it’s just — now you’re faced with — I don’t know, I mean, it’s kind of hard. People don’t know Donald Trump as well as I do, I’ve known him 30 years.
GRAHAM: Uh-huh.
HANNITY: And when he asks for something, it’s hard to say no to a president.
GRAHAM: Oh, yes.
HANNITY: Have you thought about that aspect of this?
GRAHAM: I’ve given it a lot of thought. I’ve prayed on it, talked to my family, Lindsey’s staff. He has a wonderful, hardworking staff. And so, yes —
HANNITY: They’re all staying with you.
GRAHAM: They’re all staying with me. They’re all supporting me and behind me, which is, that means so much to me. Such an honor.
Lindsey loved them. They’re like family. So absolutely.
HANNITY: So, the good news is you have a huge infrastructure —
GRAHAM: Uh-huh.
HANNITY: — for constituent services already built in that you’re inheriting from your brother.
GRAHAM: Correct.
HANNITY: That’s got to give you some peace.
GRAHAM: It does. It does. It reassures me that, you know, I feel like I can do this.
And the meeting with the president, it was such an honor. It was comfortable. And, you know, I told him two things. I said, I can tell you this about me. I will work hard and I’m loyal. So —
HANNITY: I bet he liked the second part better.
(LAUGHTER)
GRAHAM: Yeah. Maybe, yeah.
HANNITY: What’s interesting, and I think part of it’s a good thing, I think part of it in your circumstances makes it triply harder in that I like the idea if, God forbid, a state loses a senator, they deserve representation.
GRAHAM: Absolutely.
HANNITY: And now they have it in you —
GRAHAM: Uh-huh.
HANNITY: — with Lindsey’s full staff in place. That’s good news for the people, the great people of South Carolina.
I am so fortunate to have his staff. I mean, they’re bringing me up to speed. They’re right by my side working hard while grieving. It’s been hard on them. So I can’t tell you how much I appreciate them.
HANNITY: The president again saying, “I hope Darline does this.” Meaning I hope you will get — and here’s the filing deadline for people that don’t know. And this is — these are just the laws of South Carolina. The filing begins tomorrow. I think you have a week?
GRAHAM: Uh-huh. Yes.
HANNITY: And by that time, the funerals won’t even have taken place.
GRAHAM: I know.
HANNITY: And then the president putting an ask on you — we’ll put it that way. It’s a lot of pressure.
GRAHAM: It is a tremendous amount of pressure.
HANNITY: Tell me what’s going through your head about it, and where do you stand now?
GRAHAM: I’ve been — I’ll continue to say I’ve been praying a lot, talking to my family, but with the love of my family, with the support of his staff. I know I’m a hard worker. I learned that from Lindsey. He cared about the people of this state. I’ve worked for almost 30 years for the people of this state.
HANNITY: I’m going to talk about that in a minute.
GRAHAM: I feel like I can do it. I feel an inner peace about it. Will it be difficult? Yes, absolutely.
HANNITY: So you’re inclined to get in or have you even made a final decision?
GRAHAM: I’ve made a decision.
HANNITY: You’re in?
GRAHAM: I’m in. I’m in. I can’t see it any other way. I just can’t.
I’ve thought and I’ve prayed and I just — he’s worked so hard for so long. I just — I can’t just let that die. I’ve got to step in and carry on his legacy.
I know he cared about the people of South Carolina so deeply. He worked so hard for them. And I feel like I can do that, too. He taught me well. I learned a lot from Lindsey.
And I think —
HANNITY: You were involved in every campaign.
GRAHAM: Every campaign, yes.
HANNITY: And thank God you were, because if it wasn’t, your ads were much better than his ads, you know, as you would talk about him, and from under the time you were 13.
GRAHAM: The personal side. He had a hard time sharing that.
HANNITY: So, you’ll have to go through this period where you’re going to be very busy. I’m sure funeral arrangements.
GRAHAM: The time frame is brutal. Brutal.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HANNITY: And coming up, more of my exclusive interview with Senator Darline Graham, including a discussion on how Senator Darline Graham will govern maybe a little differently than her brother.
Also, we’ll hear from Senator Tim Scott.
Also, stay tuned. An exclusive preview, my podcast, with the notorious influencer Clavicular. If you don’t know, stay tuned, straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HANNITY: All right. So if you are just joining us, I sat down with the newly appointed South Carolina senator, Darline Graham, where she announced her intention to run for her brother’s vacancy this coming fall.
Here is part two of that interview, including a very emotional moment reflecting on Senator Lindsey Graham’s life and legacy.
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HANNITY: Your brother traveled all around the globe. I don’t — there’s not a senator that traveled more often than him.
GRAHAM: Yes.
HANNITY: Into Kyiv — he went to Afghanistan and Iraq maybe 25 times.
GRAHAM: Uh-huh.
HANNITY: You know, he traveled to Ukraine, you know, 10, 12, 15 times, which is a brutal trip.
GRAHAM: Yes.
HANNITY: He was at the NATO meeting in Turkey. He went to every country in the Middle East numerous times.
Did you spend a lot of time talking to him about all that?
GRAHAM: I did. And, you know, I was concerned about him. I’m like, Lindsey, it’s a lot. You know, I want you to slow down and take care of yourself.
But I knew that he was doing what he loved, what he was passionate about. He, again, he loved serving people, the state and serving our country. And so I just had an inner peace. I knew that if anything ever happened to him, that it would be doing what he loved.
HANNITY: He didn’t really take care of himself, did he?
GRAHAM: No. He didn’t. If I could go back and beg and plead and get him to do better, I would, but I can’t. I just encourage people.
HANNITY: I don’t think there was anybody or anything that would stop him.
GRAHAM: There wasn’t.
HANNITY: No.
GRAHAM: Yeah.
HANNITY: Well, I would ask him —
GRAHAM: He was on a mission, a mission from God, I think. I mean, that’s almost — I think why he was here on this Earth.
HANNITY: Yeah. I would ask him a couple of things I’d argue with him about. Why are you going back again?
And then I’d say, why are you wasting your time on going on shows like “Meet the Press” and George Stephanopoulos? I said, they hate you. And he’s like, “Because it’s fun.” That was his answer.
GRAHAM: He was a character.
HANNITY: I think people need to know a little —
GRAHAM: I would watch and get angry sometimes, but just let it roll off.
HANNITY: I’d be furious.
GRAHAM: Yeah.
HANNITY: Yeah. And he’d say, oh, I got — you know, then he’d want to talk about it after.
GRAHAM: Yeah.
HANNITY: You’ve had your own life and success in private (ph).
GRAHAM: I am.
HANNITY: You have been the commissioner of South Carolina’s Commission for the Blind.
GRAHAM: Uh-huh.
HANNITY: You’ve held this position since 2019. It’s a 130-person agency, $90 million budget you ran, 10 offices across South Carolina, agency committed to helping individuals that are blind or low vision find employment, support their families, live independently.
The leader in this field, you were elected, you know, as I guess the national upcoming leader of the president of the association, National Association of Agencies for Blind.
GRAHAM: Uh-huh.
HANNITY: You have a lot of experience because that’s a serious budget for any one individual.
(CROSSTALK)
GRAHAM: I know (ph). Yeah.
HANNITY: A lot of employees.
GRAHAM: Very important work, absolutely. And I have worked really hard. When I took over that agency, there were some challenges, to say the least.
HANNITY: Sure.
GRAHAM: And in the past seven years, I’m confident to say I turned that agency around. We’re now a national model.
I’m so proud of my executive team and all the staff there that worked so hard to serve individuals who are blind or low vision.
It was a passion of mine, but I have a servant’s heart. You have to have a servant’s heart for a job like that, I think, and I do. It was very important work to me, and I worked very hard at it.
HANNITY: And you’ll be out on a campaign trail, it seems, explaining a lot of these things to the American people. And you’re going to be the upcoming president, but you had to go in on Friday of last week, again, part of a pretty crazy whirlwind week.
And talk to everybody. How did that go?
GRAHAM: It was — I got a lot of sincere, heartfelt messages. I mean, people were just so warm and receptive. There were tears. There were hugs. There — it was a lot.
But I — the day I left out of there, I had no idea, obviously, what was going to happen.
HANNITY: Uh-huh.
GRAHAM: And I couldn’t just leave them without saying goodbye.
HANNITY: Sure.
GRAHAM: I mean, they’re my team. I always managed with the team concept. You know, I feel like a good leader is only as good as the people that work with them to help them.
So I had to go back and thank them and just say goodbye.
HANNITY: Knowing your brother, and maybe — I thought it was unfair criticism, but he was so dialed in. He wanted peace in Ukraine — with Ukraine and Russia. And his plan, you know, when you got beyond his belief that evil and having more clarity and defeating, you know, radical Islamists that were the number one state sponsor of terror in full agreement with President Trump.
But on the other side of that argument, people didn’t ever really want to hear what he was saying. And it drove me crazy.
GRAHAM: Yeah.
HANNITY: Because he wanted a path to peace in the region.
GRAHAM: He did.
HANNITY: He wanted an end to the conflict with Ukraine and Russia.
GRAHAM: Uh-huh.
HANNITY: That was his ultimate goal.
GRAHAM: Yes.
HANNITY: That was a heavy focus for him. And maybe — maybe, and I think that might have been the reason — maybe it was the reason, that Tim Scott’s, you know, he was not as focused on foreign policy.
GRAHAM: Right, right.
HANNITY: I used to like to rib him about lower poll numbers and give him a hard time. He gave me a hard time back, too, don’t worry.
Do you see areas where maybe there might be differences, you know, now that you’re the senator, between you and your brother? Maybe it’s an unfair question, but —
GRAHAM: No, it’s fair. And, you know, I understand. I used to see him on the talk shows. I would watch him and I’d be like, Lindsey, you’re just talking about national security all the time. And I understand that’s important — protecting our borders, national security, absolutely.
I said, but, you know, talk about also what matters to the average person. You know, the price of groceries, the price of gas, health care, insurance, those kind of things. That’s what I’m worried about.
HANNITY: Uh-huh.
GRAHAM: So I think that’s important too.
HANNITY: And you spoke to him about that?
GRAHAM: Yes.
HANNITY: How did he respond?
GRAHAM: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
(LAUGHTER)
GRAHAM: You know him. It was like —
HANNITY: I know him. I had a couple of —
GRAHAM: Yeah, well, what do you think when I said so and so? I’m like, okay, he’s listening, but not.
He knew it, but he was just always so passionate. And people thought it was about, oh, he just loves war. He didn’t love war. He wanted peace.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HANNITY: All right, much more of my exclusive interview with Senator Darline Graham. Put the whole interview up on my podcast, including an in-depth look into her life, a love of NASCAR, cutting her own grass, loving to go shopping, bargains, coupons, and the senator’s devotion to her family, community.
END
Further Reading
Darline Graham Senate run – CBS News — Darline Graham says she’ll run for full Senate term: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/darline-graham-lindsey-graham-sister-senate-full-term-campaign/
Darline Graham Senate run – CNBC — Sen. Darline Graham running for full term: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/20/south-carolina-election-republicans-lindsey-graham.html
Darline Graham Senate run – Bloomberg — Darline Graham says she’s running for South Carolina Senate seat: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-20/darline-graham-says-she-s-running-for-south-carolina-senate-seat
Darline Graham Senate run – SC Daily Gazette — Trump encourages Sen. Darline Graham to seek full six-year term: https://scdailygazette.com/2026/07/17/president-donald-trump-encourages-sen-darline-graham-to-seek-full-six-year-term/
Darline Graham Senate run – The Hill — Trump asks Darline Graham Nordone to run for full term: https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5975198-trump-endorses-nordone-sc-senate/
– NBC News — Trump backs Darline Graham Nordone in primary: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/trump-backs-darline-graham-nordone-primary-replace-lindsey-graham-rcna588075
Darline Graham Senate run – Axios — Trump backs Lindsey Graham’s sister in Senate special election: https://www.axios.com/2026/07/17/trump-darline-graham-nordone-senate-endorsement
Darline Graham Senate run – Roll Call — Fry, Norman join GOP special election primary for Graham’s seat: https://rollcall.com/2026/07/20/fry-norman-join-gop-special-election-primary-for-grahams-seat/
Darline Graham Senate run – Washington Times — Rep. Russell Fry enters race to replace late Sen. Lindsey Graham: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/jul/20/rep-russell-fry-enters-race-replace-late-south-carolina-sen-lindsey/
Darline Graham Senate run – Emerson College Polling — South Carolina 2026 poll: no clear leader (July 14–15): https://emersoncollegepolling.com/south-carolina-2026-poll-no-clear-leader-to-replace-late-sen-graham-on-ballot/
Darline Graham Senate run – SC Gov. Henry McMaster — official appointment press release: https://governor.sc.gov/news/2026-07/gov-mcmaster-appoints-darline-graham-us-senate
Darline Graham Senate run – MyHorryNews — Trump shoutout to Fry; Brittain reportedly eyes Fry’s House seat: https://www.myhorrynews.com/news/rep-fry-gets-shoutout-from-president-trump-to-run-for-senate-brittain-reportedly-eyes-frys/article_6285c453-10b2-417d-a602-51246c419f2a.html
Darline Graham Senate run – Baltimore Sun — ‘Time to step up’: SC Sen. Graham Nordone releases letter to constituents: https://www.baltimoresun.com/2026/07/20/time-to-step-up-sc-sen-graham-nordone-releases-letter-to-constituents/
Darline Graham Senate run – Ballotpedia — Lindsey Graham’s death sets off a special primary election: https://news.ballotpedia.org/2026/07/16/lindsey-grahams-death-will-set-off-a-special-primary-election-for-a-senate-seat-thats-open-for-the-second-time-since-1956/
Darline Graham Senate run – FITSNews — S.C. Succession Drama: Russell Fry enters U.S. Senate race: https://www.fitsnews.com/2026/07/20/s-c-succession-drama-russell-fry-enters-u-s-senate-race/
Darline Graham Senate run – MyrtleBeachSC News — Fry Is In: Horry’s Congressman Runs for Senate (prior chapter): https://www.myrtlebeachsc.com/fry-announces-senate-run/
Darline Graham Senate run – MyrtleBeachSC News — Graham’s Seat: Why Who Runs Matters (prior chapter): https://www.myrtlebeachsc.com/graham-seat-newcomers-primary/
Darline Graham Senate run – MyrtleBeachSC News — U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina Dies at 71 (prior chapter): https://www.myrtlebeachsc.com/graham-death-claim/
