Well, color me baffled.
President Donald Trump said Monday that he's recommending Darline Graham Nordone, the sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), to fill his Senate seat on an interim basis.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 13, 2026
Gov. Henry McMaster (R-S.C.) is expected to hold a news conference at 4 p.m. Monday to reflect on Graham's "life and service" and announce his pick to fill the vacancy. Whoever gets the job will serve at least until January, when Graham's term would have expired.
Still, this recommendation kind of baffles me.
Obviously, Graham and his sister were close. Their mother died in 1976, when Graham was 20, and Nordone was 12. Less than two years later, their father died of a heart attack. Graham, then 22, adopted his sister and raised her as his own. He never married. He never had children. Nordone was his family. So the sentiment behind Trump's pick makes sense on a human level. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Graham's Senate colleague, told "CBS Mornings" earlier Monday that Nordone "would be a wonderful placeholder." Trump called it "a fabulous tribute."
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As touching as that may be, here's the problem: Darline Graham Nordone has no political record I can find. What has she done? What does she believe? Is she prepared to cast votes on behalf of 5 million South Carolinians, even on a temporary basis? I don't know. Nobody commenting on this seems to know either. She's simply Graham's sister, and Trump wants her in the job. I also can't find a precedent for handing a Senate seat to a sibling. Anywhere. Ever.
Spousal succession, at least, has company. Missouri appointed Jean Carnahan (D-Mo.) to the Senate in 2000 after her husband, Mel Carnahan, died in a plane crash during his campaign. He won the election anyway, posthumously, and Carnahan filled the seat. The governor of Minnesota appointed Muriel Humphrey (D-Minn.) after her husband, Hubert Humphrey, died in 1978, though she never sought election herself.
There are examples of wives who have succeeded their husbands via election. Mary Bono (R-Calif.) won a 1998 special election after her husband, entertainer-turned-congressman Sonny Bono, died in a skiing accident, and she served until 2013. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) won the election in 2014 when her husband, John Dingell, retired after nearly 60 years in Congress, a succession that had nothing to do with a death.
If the people elect a spouse, a sibling, or whatever, that’s their choice, but a Senate seat is a public trust, not a family keepsake.
Perhaps what really irks me is the obvious way this opens Trump up to accusations of enabling nepotism. I guess he’s okay with that.
And nobody seems to be asking the obvious question: who is Darline Graham Nordone, politically speaking?
Graham had also been seeking reelection in November, and a special election to determine his replacement will be held on that ballot on Aug. 11. Whatever McMaster announces this afternoon is temporary. Voters get the final say at the special election.
Maybe Nordone turns out to be a great choice — if McMaster even selects her. But being a "fabulous tribute" isn't a qualification.
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