November 4, 2026
In a major electoral setback for the Republican Party, Democratic candidate Annie Andrews achieved a remarkable victory in the US Senate elections for the state of South Carolina, defeating her Republican rival, Darlene Graham, sister of the late Senator Lindsey Graham, despite the direct support that the latter received from President Donald Trump.
American media reported, on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, that Andrews succeeded in seizing a seat that had been reserved for Republicans for decades, in a major surprise during the midterm congressional elections. Democrats have not won a state Senate seat since 1998.
Darlene Graham previously assumed the seat, succeeding her brother Lindsey Graham, who passed away last July, and ran in the race supported by a campaign led by President Trump himself. On the other hand, Andrews, a pediatrician, recorded a historic breakthrough in a state that Trump won by a margin of approximately 18 percentage points in the 2024 presidential elections, thus becoming the first woman elected to represent South Carolina in the Senate.
This achievement comes within a broader wave of gains made by the Democratic Party in the November 3 elections, where it seized control of the House of Representatives and achieved progress in the Senate, paving the way for a new phase of political confrontation between Congress and the US administration.
This shift in the balance of power is likely to give Democrats broader tools for parliamentary oversight, reviewing government policies, and addressing the priorities of the Republican president during the second half of his term. Thus, Darlene Graham’s defeat goes beyond its local dimensions to constitute a major hinge in redrawing the map of political balances in Washington.
