South Carolina governor selects Darline Graham Nordone, Lindsey Graham’s sister, to finish his Senate term

By Eric Bradner, Kevin Liptak, CNN

(CNN) — South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster announced the appointment of Sen. Lindsey Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, to serve in the longtime Republican lawmaker’s seat after he suddenly died over the weekend.

“Lindsey has always been there for me, and now I will be there for him,” Nordone said at a news conference with McMaster on Monday afternoon. “It is such a privilege to get to finish some of his important work, and I promise to work hard over the next several months to support the president and carry forward the efforts of my brother on behalf of the citizens of South Carolina and the United States.”

She added: “To Lindsey, I miss you more than I can even put into words. But I’m going to do this. I got it.”

Under state law, McMaster can appoint a temporary replacement to fill Graham’s vacant seat. But because Graham was up for reelection this year, his death will kick off a sprint primary election to replace him on the November ballot.

The special primary election will occur on August 11, according to a news release from McMaster’s office.

McMaster said he asked Nordone to finish her older brother’s term early Sunday morning. “I was humbled by your quickness to see the duty that you had to serve,” he said as he introduced Nordone.

He added that he called President Donald Trump, a close ally of Graham, after their conversation “and he thought it was a great idea.”

Earlier Monday, Trump said he’d recommended appointing Nordone to the Republican governor “as a fabulous tribute to Lindsey, who loved her dearly.”

Ahead of the press conference, Senate Majority Leader John Thune told CNN’s Dana Bash that he spoke Sunday with both Nordone and McMaster.

“I’ll let the governor make an announcement about that, but that certainly in my view makes a lot of sense,” he said, adding that he thought there would be a lot of support for Nordone.

Thune applauded McMaster’s announcement on Monday afternoon and looked forward to her arrival in the Senate.

“Lindsey’s legacy will continue through Darline, and I look forward to welcoming her soon,” Thune said on X following the news conference.

Who is Darline Graham Nordone?

Nordone, 62, has not previously held elected office but has a long history of public service in the state.

She currently serves as a commissioner for the South Carolina Commission for the Blind and has long worked with people with disabilities.

Graham and his sister were close their entire lives, his sister told Bash in a 2015 interview after her brother launched his bid for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.

“Even when my parents were alive, they worked really long, hard hours running a small business. So even then, he was a caregiver to me,” she said.

The same year, the unmarried Graham was asked by the Daily Mail Online who would be his first lady.

“Well, I’ve got a sister. She could play that role if necessary,” he said.

The two grew up in a single room behind the Sanitary Cafe — a bar, pool hall and liquor store their parents ran in Central, South Carolina.

After their parents died within 15 months of each other, Darline became orphaned at age 13 in 1976. Graham — the first in his family to attend college, and a member of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps — became Darline’s legal guardian. That enabled Darline to access her brother’s military benefits, she told CNN in 2015.

She said being adopted by her brother “was a little odd” at first, but she came to understand “it makes perfect sense.”

“I knew he was doing what he could to take care of me, and it was best for us,” she said.

Nordone is a graduate of the College of Charleston and lives in Lexington, South Carolina.

McMaster is term-limited and cannot seek reelection this year. Trump this year floated the governor’s son, Henry McMaster Jr., as a potential pick for lieutenant governor after he endorsed McMaster’s lieutenant governor, Pamela Evette, in the state’s gubernatorial primary.

McMaster Jr. declined, writing on social media that “now is simply not the right time for me to be considered” for the post, and Evette went on to lose a primary runoff to South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson. Trump late in the gubernatorial primary issued a second dual endorsement of both Evette and Wilson.

A source familiar with the matter told CNN that Evette was fielding calls about entering the race for Graham’s seat. Other potential candidates for a special primary election include Reps. Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman.

The winner of that special primary would face Democrat Annie Andrews in November.

This headline and story have been updated with additional information.

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CNN’s Jeff Zeleny and Dianne Gallagher contributed to this report.