Lindsey Graham rose in South Carolina race to succeed Strom Thurmond

Strom Thurmond’s retirement opened the first open-seat U.S. Senate race in South Carolina since 1966, and Lindsey Graham moved quickly to define himself as the heir to one of the state’s most durable political brands. Thurmond was 99, the longest-serving senator in U.S. history, and had become the first centenarian ever to serve in Congress. By the time he stepped aside after 48 years in the Senate, the contest to replace him had become a test of whether a Republican could turn Thurmond’s legacy into a new governing coalition.

Graham, 46, entered the race after first winning a House seat in 1994 and building a profile far beyond South Carolina. He drew national attention as a House impeachment manager during the Clinton proceedings, then irritated some Republican leaders by backing John McCain in the 2000 Republican presidential primary. That history gave Graham a campaign identity rooted in Washington fights, party loyalty and institutional ambition, traits that would follow him into the Senate if he won Thurmond’s seat.

His Democratic opponent, Alex Sanders, brought a different résumé: former president of the College of Charleston and a respected legal figure. But Sanders’ campaign was disrupted when he described South Carolina as more than “ignorant, racist, redneck Dixiecrats,” a remark that triggered an uproar and forced him to say he would stop using the phrase. The episode sharpened the contrast between the two candidates, with Graham positioned as the safer Republican choice and Sanders left defending his ties to the state’s political past.

Graham also had the resources to match his message. President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney campaigned for him in South Carolina and helped raise $1.6 million. In the latest Federal Election Commission filings cited at the time, Graham had nearly $4.9 million to Sanders’ $2.7 million, and he led by 16 points in the most recent poll. The financial edge, the White House backing and the national Republican network behind him underscored how Graham was already running as more than a local candidate.

Thurmond’s presence still hung over the race. He had won the Senate in 1954 as a write-in candidate, the only write-in ever to capture a Senate seat, and his 100th birthday celebration later that year drew prominent political figures to Washington. But on November 5, 2002, Graham defeated Sanders and won the seat Thurmond had held for nearly half a century.