Politics
South Carolina Republicans Rally Behind Write‑In Candidate Ralph Norman Amid Discontent With Trump‑Endorsed Nominee
Avery Milton, a 28‑year‑old South Carolinian who has voted for President Donald Trump in the last three elections, says he feels betrayed by the president’s actions during his second term. Milton, along with other younger conservatives, is leading a grassroots effort to write in Republican Congressman Ralph Norman for the U.S. Senate instead of supporting the party’s nominee, Senator Darline Graham, who has Trump’s endorsement.
A write‑in candidate is one whose name does not appear on the ballot but can still be chosen by voters who write it in themselves. The option is often used to signal dissatisfaction with the official candidates, but rarely leads to a victory. In 2010, Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska won a write‑in campaign after losing her Republican primary. In the 2022 South Carolina Senate race, write‑in votes accounted for just 0.1 percent of all votes cast.
Graham was appointed to fill the vacancy left by her brother, former Senator Lindsey Graham, who died on July 11. She was the first sibling appointed to a Senate vacancy. Trump urged her to run for a full six‑year term, posting “RUN, DARLINE, RUN!” on Truth Social and promising his “complete and total endorsement.” Graham announced her candidacy on Fox News three days later. She defeated Republican Ralph Norman in the August primary, but Norman has declined to campaign alongside her and has stated that he does not support her.
Milton says Graham has done little to reach voters in Upstate South Carolina, where Norman has considerable support. He argues that the campaign has been about “trying to prop up a candidate” rather than earning votes. The Write‑In Ralph movement has built a website and given the campaign a public platform. Milton and other supporters want a senator who will think independently rather than simply follow party leadership.
A New York Times/Siena poll conducted in October suggested that 30 percent of likely voters in South Carolina identify as independents. Among those voters, Democratic Senate candidate Annie Andrews led Graham by 20 percentage points. The findings indicate a potential blind spot for Republicans seeking to consolidate support around Trump’s MAGA coalition.
John Connolly, a 77‑year‑old retiree in the Lowcountry, views Graham’s appointment as a reward for loyalty over experience, calling her a “puppet.” Leila Ali, a regional campaign adviser, says political strategists often underestimate the diversity of the Southern electorate. She points to nearly 950,000 early votes cast in the state, a record for a midterm election.
The race has become increasingly competitive as the November 3 election approaches. Despite Trump winning South Carolina by nearly 18 percentage points in 2024, he has made two trips to the state in three months to campaign for Graham. Polling from the October New York Times/Siena College poll shows Graham and Andrews tied at 48 percent among likely voters. For Democrats, this division offers a rare opening in a deep‑red state where the party has struggled to compete. Even with the race tightening, Republicans like Milton are willing to risk a Democratic victory by writing in Ralph Norman. If Graham loses, Milton says the blame should not fall on the write‑in effort, arguing that the votes would not have gone to Darline anyway.