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Aug 25, 2026· Updated

Lindsey Graham's Sister Appointed to His Senate Seat on Trump's Recommendation

On Monday, July 13, 2026, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster appointed Darline Graham Nordone — the late Sen. Lindsey Graham's sister — to fill his Senate seat, after President Trump publicly recommended her for the post. Nordone, who had held no prior elected office, was sworn in by Senate Majority Leader John Thune the following afternoon and will serve until at least January 3, 2027, when the new Congress convenes. A special Republican primary was set for August 11 to choose a nominee for the November ballot. The appointment preserved a narrow Senate Republican majority. It was initially presented as a placeholder arrangement, and drew criticism as nepotism from across the spectrum — sharpening considerably when Nordone later said she would seek a full term, with Trump's endorsement, after South Carolina Republicans had been promised an open primary with no incumbent.

“The past few weeks have been an unbelievably challenging time for our family, but you know what? We did it. South Carolina is truly Trump country. Now, the critics say I shouldn't run for the Senate. They say I'm not a politician. You know what I say? Guilty as charged.”
Darline Graham Nordone (R-SC) · Aug 25, 2026

DNC Locks In South Carolina as the First 2028 Primary and Cuts Iowa From the Early Window, as New Hampshire's Entire Delegation Vows the Granite State Will Vote First Anyway

On Saturday, August 15, 2026, the Democratic National Committee, meeting for its summer session in Austin, Texas, gave final approval to the party's 2028 presidential nominating calendar. The vote ratified a July 24, 2026 decision by the DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee and ends Iowa's run at the front of the Democratic calendar, which began in 1972. The approved schedule runs six contests over six weeks: South Carolina on January 22, 2028, Nevada on February 1, New Hampshire on February 8, New Mexico on February 15, Michigan on February 22, and Virginia on February 29 — all before Super Tuesday. Party leaders framed the order as an effort to front-load states with large Black and Latino electorates, a coalition Democrats lost ground with in 2024. DNC Chair Ken Martin called it the most diverse calendar in the party's history. New Hampshire is the flashpoint. State law requires the New Hampshire secretary of state to schedule the presidential primary at least seven days before any similar contest anywhere in the country, which sets the statute on a collision course with the DNC's February 8 slot and raises the prospect that New Hampshire again holds an unsanctioned first primary and has its delegates penalized. The state's four Democratic members of Congress — Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan and Reps. Chris Pappas and Maggie Goodlander — condemned the decision in a joint statement when the Rules and Bylaws Committee acted in July, and Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte and the Republican leadership of the New Hampshire House said the state would hold the first primary regardless. Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart urged DNC members to reject the calendar, warning that abandoning a rural Midwestern state cedes ground Republicans intend to occupy — the Iowa GOP plans to caucus first in 2028 regardless of the Democratic schedule. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez welcomed New Mexico's addition to the early window.

“We need a Midwest and a truly rural state to be among the first four states if we hope to build sustainable and lasting majorities that enact real and meaningful change.”
Rita Hart (D-IA) · Aug 15, 2026

Sen. Lindsey Graham Dies at 71, Drawing Bipartisan Tributes

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) died the night of Saturday, July 11, 2026, at his Capitol Hill residence in Washington, DC, after emergency personnel responded to a cardiac arrest call. His office confirmed the death early Sunday, July 12, attributing it to a "brief and sudden illness." He was 71. A preliminary report from the DC medical examiner gave the cause as aortic dissection due to heart disease. Graham was first elected to the Senate in 2002 after four terms in the House, and had become one of President Trump's closest Senate allies after years as a leading foreign-policy hawk and ally of the late Sen. John McCain. His death drew tributes from across the political spectrum and from foreign leaders including Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Benjamin Netanyahu, and left Senate Republicans with a vacancy in a chamber where their majority is narrow.

“A one-of-a-kind figure in our politics. I couldn't help but like him.”
JD Vance (R-OH) · Jul 12, 2026