Every now and then, a political story comes along that forces us to think about what a Senate seat actually is, and who it belongs to. One of those stories is unfolding in South Carolina right now, and it involves a decision from President Trump that I've been mulling over since the day he made it. Shortly after the death of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Trump recommended that Gov. Henry McMaster (R-S.C.) appoint Darline Graham Nordone, Graham's sister, to fill the seat on an interim basis. McMaster obliged, naming her to serve out the remainder of Graham's term, which ends in January.
The praise came quickly from Republicans in Congress, but I was skeptical. Nordone has no discoverable political record. Her professional history is unknown. I’m sure she’s a conservative, but her policy positions are unknown. A tribute may be touching, but a Senate seat carries real power, and "a fabulous tribute" is a sentiment, while being qualified for office is a standard.
I went looking for precedent, and found none for handing a Senate seat to a senator's sibling. Spouses are a different story. Jean Carnahan (D-Mo.) was appointed in 2000 after her husband, Mel Carnahan, died in a campaign plane crash, and won the election posthumously. Muriel Humphrey (D-Minn.) was appointed in 1978 after her husband, Hubert Humphrey, died, though she never ran for the seat herself. Others earned their seats at the ballot box. Mary Bono (R-Calif.) won a 1998 special election after her husband, Sonny Bono, died in a skiing accident, and she served until 2013. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) won election in 2014 to succeed her husband, John Dingell, after he retired following nearly six decades in Congress.
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Now Trump has taken it a step further. On Friday, he endorsed Nordone in the special election to fill the seat for a full term. "I asked Darline, for the Good of our Nation, to run for the U.S. Senate in the Special Republican Primary on Tuesday, August 11, 2026," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "I hope Darline does this, in that there would be nobody better to honor the legacy of her beloved brother, Lindsey." He added, "Run Darline Run."
But here's the problem: Honoring a legacy still tells us nothing about how she'd vote, what she believes, or whether she's up to the job. Heck, it’s not even clear if she wants the job. Apparently Trump doesn’t know, either.
The good news is that South Carolina Republicans will have options. Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) jumped into the race despite Trump's endorsement. Norman said he asked Trump for his blessing before entering. "He decided to go with Darline, who's a nice person, and he decided to go with her and I respect that, but that doesn't deter my plans. I'm in this to win," Norman said. He's picked up endorsements from Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), fellow opponents of the filibuster. The field also includes businessman Mark Lynch, who challenged Graham in the June primary, and attorney Duke Buckner, with more expected.
I keep coming back to something former Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) said during the race to fill the late Sen. Ted Kennedy's (D-Mass.) seat back in 2010, after a moderator called it Kennedy's seat. "With all due respect, it's not the Kennedy's seat, it's not the Democrats' seat, it's the people's seat," Brown said.
He was right then, and it's true now. A Senate seat doesn't belong to a politician or a party, and it certainly doesn't belong to a politician's family.
