The only scheduled debate in South Carolina’s Senate race took place Sunday in Columbia, bringing together Republican Sen. Darline Graham, Democratic pediatrician Annie Andrews, and libertarian Kasie Whitener, a radio host and professor. The event was organized by South Carolina ETV and Public Radio.
Andrews used part of the hour to push for additional face-offs before voters cast ballots on Nov. 3. She said she had already agreed to three more debates and argued that one 60-minute session left too many issues untouched. Graham declined to commit to any further joint appearances.
“I’ve had a job representing the people of South Carolina in Washington, D.C., so I think it’s more important for me to hear from voters than to stand with you on this debate stage,” Graham said, according to The Hill.
Debate turns personal over names, health care plans, and a past national security comment
Personal history entered the exchange when Andrews raised the fact that Graham dropped the name Nordone after she entered the Senate. Graham has pushed back against suggestions that her political rise was handed to her, as when she insisted her appointment to her brother’s Senate seat by the governor wasn’t a given.
Andrews suggested the move was meant to draw on the recognition attached to the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, her brother.
“I told you my opponent was going to call me a socialist, and there she’s done it again. She’s been told to come out here and call me Bernie, Ocasio, Mamdani. That’s what’s in her script,” Andrews said. “But the truth is, my name is Annie Andrews, and there shouldn’t be any confusion about that because, unlike my opponent, I haven’t changed my name recently.”
Graham rejected any claim that the name change served a political purpose. She pointed out that “Graham” appears on every document she has signed. She said she retained the name because it keeps her close to her parents, who died when she was young.
Graham highlighted her short time in office, noting she has already co-sponsored bills aimed at protecting farmers and taxpayers. She labeled Andrews the most radical liberal ever to seek statewide office in South Carolina and accused her of backing government-run health care for all.
“We are already $40 trillion in national debt. That will cost trillions of dollars,” Graham said. “Our national debt will be through the roof. She will bankrupt our country with government-run healthcare for all.”
Andrews has previously described Medicare for All as “a policy from a few decades ago.” She has instead called for a public option inside the existing Affordable Care Act framework.
Andrews also returned to a moment from Graham’s August primary runoff debate against Rep. Ralph Norman. Asked about Taiwan and the South China Sea, Graham had said she was not that informed on national security, while adding that she supports the military. Andrews argued the comment raised questions about readiness for the job.
“My opponent is the only one on this stage who had the opportunity to vote to end the war, but three times in a row she voted to continue it,” Andrews said. “And several days after one of those votes, she had the audacity to walk out onto this stage and admit that national security isn’t really her thing. South Carolina, if your surgeon said that appendectomies aren’t really his thing, would you still hand him a scalpel? No.”
Graham answered that she was simply being straightforward with voters. “Your thing apparently is not being honest with the people of South Carolina,” she said. “At least I’m honest. If I don’t know something, I am glad to say it, and I’ll say it again tonight. But … you are deceiving the people of South Carolina.”
When the subject shifted to a recent agreement under which Russia would supply 300,000 tons of diesel to the United States and global markets, Graham avoided a direct endorsement or rejection. She said she was proud to have helped pass the September sanctions legislation named for her late brother, which authorized tariffs of up to 100 percent on major purchasers of Russian energy.
“I think that everybody wants the war in Ukraine to end. We will all be safer when the war in Ukraine ends,” Graham said. “It gives the president tools that he can use if he so chooses to end the war through economic sanctions. So that’s up to him as to whether or not he wants to use it or whether he wants to use something else. But I think the purpose of it is to bring down the gas prices and ultimately end the war. And when the war ends, gas prices will fall.”
Graham also sought to associate Andrews with the Democratic Socialists of America, saying Andrews would not confront the group and would instead join it. She referenced criticism of some progressive Democrats’ reactions to the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
Andrews treated the charge as an attempt to change the subject. “My opponent is going to stand up here tonight and call me a socialist because that’s what her script says,” she said, “and also because she doesn’t want to talk to you about your high gas prices, grocery prices or your closing rural hospital.”
Decision Desk HQ currently gives Graham a 70 percent probability of winning the November contest.
Published: Oct 12, 2026 01:45 pm