In the midst of grieving for their late colleague Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., GOP senators rallied behind the appointment of Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, to temporarily fill her brother’s seat to represent South Carolina in the Senate.
“She will do a great job,” Sen. Roger Marshall told Fox News Digital. “She’ll represent the same values that he represents.”
He continued, “She’ll intuitively know how he would vote on particular issues, even if she doesn’t know as much about it as he would have. I think that she’ll be a strong vote up here for us, a strong American first conservative for South Carolina.”
LINDSEY GRAHAM’S SISTER APPOINTED TO SENATE AS GOP RUSHES TO PROTECT FRAGILE MAJORITY
Just two days after Graham died from aortic dissection, Gov. Henry McMaster of South Carolina appointed Nordone to serve the remainder of her brother’s term, which ends Jan. 3.
“It’s amazing how life goes on,” Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said. “The country needs to continue. The Senate needs to do its work. And I think choosing who the Governor McMaster chose to replace him is perfect.”
President Donald Trump, a close McMaster ally, also endorsed Nordone to temporarily serve as a replacement for Graham. Shortly after Trump’s public endorsement, McMaster officially appointed Nordone — a move allowed under South Carolina law.
“Everybody’s loving that,” Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said about Nordone filling Graham’s seat. “Darline really was the light of his life. I mean, he took her under his wing. That’s an amazing story in and of itself.”
After their parents died within just a year of one another, a then 22-year-old Graham became Nordone’s legal guardian when she was just 13 years old. Graham took on a father role for his younger sister, adopting her after enlisting in the Air Force so she could qualify for his military benefits and pushing her to finish all of her schooling.
“If you could, you know, call Lindsey on the phone and say ‘Hey, what should we do?’ That would have been it. So that’s great. Absolutely great.”
WHO IS DARLINE GRAHAM NORDONE? LINDSEY GRAHAM’S SISTER EMERGES AS TRUMP’S SENATE PICK
Nordone’s swift appointment restored Republicans to a 53-seat majority in the Senate after Graham’s death temporarily reduced the GOP conference by one seat.
Beyond backing Nordone, GOP senators repeatedly returned to the same theme: Graham’s character and his uncommon ability to build friendships across the conference.
“Lindsey’s the kind of guy that did so many good things for so many people over the decades that there’s probably 99 senators right now saying he was one of their best friends,” Cramer told Fox News Digital.
“Lindsey was a dear friend, one of my besties,” Marshall said. “And I think what’s interesting, there’s probably 98 of us up here that think Lindsey Graham was one of our best friends. We were that close to each other.”
He continued, “He had that gift of hospitality. He made everybody feel so welcome.”
A one-week filing period for a special primary election begins on July 21, with the special primary election following — held on Aug. 11.
Nordone has not stated whether she would consider pursuing a run for a full six-year term as senator, but Reps. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., and Ralph Norman, R-S.C., have begun laying the groundwork for bids.
If a runoff is necessary, it would follow two weeks after the special election on Aug. 25, leaving the nominee two months of campaigning until the general election on Nov. 3.
