Norman, Graham lead South Carolina GOP Senate primary: Poll

Campaign Norman, Graham lead South Carolina GOP Senate primary: Poll Comments: by Ryan Mancini - 07/30/26 10:41 AM ET Comments: Link copied by Ryan Mancini - 07/30/26 10:41 AM ET Comments: Link copied

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Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) and Sen. Darline Graham (R-S.C.) lead in the latest polling on the South Carolina Republican Senate primary, with both vying to serve a full six-year term following former Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) sudden death.

A new Emerson College poll released Thursday found Norman had 22 percent support, followed by Graham with 19 percent support.

Rep. Russell Fry (R-S.C.) won 12 percent support, followed by former Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.) at 11 percent, businessman Mark Lynch at 7 percent and businessman Danny Ford II at 2 percent.

Faced with the crowded field, a quarter of likely South Carolina Republican voters also said they were still undecided.

Norman’s biggest support comes from voters younger than 50, at 24 percent, and in their 50s, at 25 percent. Thirty percent of Graham’s supporters are older than 70.

But 53 percent of voters said President Trump’s endorsement of Graham did not affect their support, while 29 percent said the endorsement made it more likely for them to choose Graham over other candidates.

Likely special election voters overwhelmingly said they believe Senate candidates must participate in a debate before the Aug. 11 special primary election. Only 12 percent said a debate among the candidates would not be unnecessary.

As of Tuesday, 12 candidates have filed to run for the Senate seat, with Sanford jumping into the race last week. Graham was initially appointed to serve the remainder of her brother’s term, but she later announced her intention to run for a full term after Trump encouraged her to do so, calling her a “true American Patriot.”

Graham took over her brother’s seat after he died unexpectedly earlier this month from an aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease. He was 71.

Graham and several other lawmakers attended her brother’s funeral at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on Tuesday. Trump honored the late senator at Washington National Cathedral, and world leaders such as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also attended.

The Emerson survey was conducted July 28-29 and included 500 likely GOP primary voters. The margin of error is 4.3 percentage points. The survey was sponsored by Nexstar, The Hill’s parent company.