Graham for Graham

As South Carolina continues to reel from the shock of Senator Lindsey Graham’s sudden death, the race for who will replace his seat has become a heated scramble.

After being appointed interim senator, Lindsey’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, has finally thrown her hat in the ring to run.

This, however, raises more questions than voters anticipated.

Candidate Qualification

It’s already been widely reported that Graham Nordone has not voted in the last 2 out of 3 Republican primaries, which is in direct conflict with the new candidate qualifications rule passed by the SCGOP mere weeks ago.

Will this cause problems for Darline’s candidacy? We shall see. The SCGOP is notorious for making rules, only to break them at their convenience. If the establishment core has decided to throw their support behind Russell Fry, they may find themselves in a pharisaical quandary: enforce the rule against a direct challenger to its preferred candidate, or waive it to appease the bleeding hearts, therefore undermining the very standard it championed.

Either way, Dorchester Chairman CJ Westfall has contacted the SCGOP Rules Committee and Executive Committee to address the issue, and the grassroots has their popcorn popped.

But beyond the new rules qualification, we must ask ourselves: how does someone who has spent decades closer to South Carolina politics than almost anyone else somehow not participate in Republican primaries?

This isn’t someone new to politics. This the sister of one of the most powerful U.S. Senators in America.

If she wasn’t motivated enough to help choose the Republican nominees over the years, why should Republican voters suddenly believe she’s the person to become one?

We also know that she didn’t vote in the 2024 presidential primary between President Trump and former Gov. Nikki Haley.

So beyond supporting her brother, where is the political record?

Where are the conservative fights?

Where has she been?

Her greatest achievement seems to be that of a  career bureaucrat. Since becoming head of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind, the agency’s budget has nearly doubled, while her own salary has increased substantially. Whether voters view that as a record of effective leadership or simply the continued growth of government is a question worth asking.

But even Graham Nordone’s friend, Katrina Shealy, reports that beyond supporting her brother, she doesn’t think Nordone is really “that political.”

Which leads to the next red flag.

Besties for the Resties?

PBS NewsHour recently published an article diving into Nordone’s background, within which was a revealing tidbit.

Apparently, Graham Nordone is a longtime friend of disgraced former state senator Katrina Shealy. Shealy was famous for consistently blocking pro-life legislation during her tenure.

A supporter of democrats and the uniparty elite, she was censured by her county party for her stance on abortion. She was also censured by the county party for endorsing a Democrat for state senate as a party officer (against SCGOP rules) after abysmally losing her senate seat to Carlisle Kennedy.

According to Katrina Shealy, she and Darline will often drink wine on Shealy’s porch while they “talk to the donkeys” that Shealy keeps as pets.

Beyond the amusing irony, conservatives may question a candidate so closely tied with yet another prolifically compromised political figure.

No Kings, No Dynasty

While the establishment boot shiners and political opportunists continue to extol Lindsey Graham’s legacy, we have to ask ourselves, exactly WHAT legacy we are to mourn?

War.
Flip-flopping.
Backroom deals.
Ukraine first.
Fighting conservatives every time they actually want conservative representation.

Let’s also not forget Lindsey Graham’s own words after January 6: “If it had been up to me, I would have shot some of these people in the head.”

Yes. Peaceful protestors, like myself and the millions of Americans present that day, would have been shot in the head were it up to Graham.

This is also the same man who wished President Trump would “go to hell,” and had this to say about President Biden:

“If you can’t admire Joe Biden as a person, then you’ve got a problem. You need to do some self-evaluation, because what’s not to like? … He’s the nicest person I think I’ve ever met in politics. He is as good a man as God ever created.”

Lindsey Graham was considered by many conservatives to be a traitor to SC and the United States. A political career marked by compromise, warmongering, and violent rhetoric, and yet suddenly South Carolinians are expected to rewrite history and believe the answer moving forward is… his sister.

Not because she’s spent years leading conservative causes and fighting for Republican principles.

Simply because she’s a Graham.

Waste Not

Does any of this sound like positive change?

Or does it sound like more of the same?

South Carolina has been handed an opportunity most states rarely get: a chance to send someone to Washington who isn’t already compromised by decades of establishment politics.

Why would we waste that opportunity by electing someone whose primary qualification appears to be sharing Lindsey Graham’s name?

Republicans shouldn’t settle for inherited political power.

Theyshould demand earned leadership,or at the very least, a proven commitment to conservative principles.