Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., said she will run for a full term for the seat held by her late brother,\u00a0Lindsey Graham<\/a>, days after\u00a0President Donald Trump said<\/a> he urged her to jump into the race.<\/p>\n Graham said in an interview with Fox News\u2019 Sean Hannity that she will run in next month\u2019s special primary election to appear on the November ballot.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve made a decision,\u201d\u00a0Graham said in a clip released on X<\/a>. \u201cI\u2019m in.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been praying a lot, talking to my family. But with the love of my family, with the support of his staff, I know I\u2019m a hard worker. I learned that from Lindsey. He cared about the people of this state. I\u2019ve worked for almost 30 years for the people of this state,\u201d Graham said. \u201cI feel like I can do it. I feel an inner peace about it. Will it be difficult? Yes, absolutely.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump on Friday said that he had given his \u201ccomplete and total endorsement\u201d to Graham, the younger sister of the late senator. \u201cI hope Darline does this, in that there would be nobody better to honor the legacy of her beloved brother, Lindsey,\u201d Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.<\/p>\n Graham was\u00a0sworn in to the Senate seat<\/a>\u00a0last Tuesday, a day after South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster\u00a0appointed her to the role<\/a>\u00a0to finish out her late brother\u2019s term, which ends in early January.\u00a0The elder Graham died July 11<\/a>\u00a0at age 71 of what was preliminarily diagnosed as a rupture of his aorta due to a hardening of his arteries, his office said.<\/p>\n Graham\u2019s funeral services are scheduled for July 28 in Washington, D.C., and July 29 in South Carolina.<\/p>\n Other GOP candidates who have announced plans to run in the Aug. 11 election include Republican\u00a0Reps. Russell Fry<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Ralph Norman<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0businessman Mark Lynch<\/a>, who lost to Lindsey Graham in the June Republican primary.<\/p>\n Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., who ran an unsuccessful bid for governor this year,\u00a0said in a video statement<\/a>\u00a0Monday afternoon that she will not be seeking the Senate seat.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to be straight with you. I\u2019m not running for the U.S. Senate, not because I\u2019m backing down from a fight, but because the one I\u2019m already in matters now,\u201d Mace said, referring to her\u00a0legislative efforts<\/a>\u00a0on protecting women from sexual abuse.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not chasing another title; I\u2019m chasing justice,\u201d she added in her video, which was posted after Graham announced her candidacy.<\/p>\n The filing deadline for next month\u2019s special election is July 28. The winner will go on to face Democrat Annie Andrews in November.<\/p>\n When she accepted her appointment to her brother\u2019s seat last week, Darline Graham recounted their close relationship and said, \u201cLindsey has always been there for me, and now I will be there for him.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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