South Carolina to appoint temporary replacement after Lindsey Graham’s death

Henry McMaster will appoint a temporary replacement to Lindsey Graham’s U.S. Senate seat as South Carolina moves into a compressed special-election fight. State law also sets a fast Republican primary to choose the party’s nominee for the November ballot, with the special primary now scheduled for August 11, 2026.

The process runs on two tracks. Under South Carolina law, candidate filing opens on the second Tuesday after the vacancy occurs and stays open for one week, then the special primary is held on the second Tuesday after filing closes. Because Graham’s vacancy came more than 100 days before the November general election, the governor’s appointee would serve until January 3, 2027.

Graham’s death immediately altered a race he had already been contesting. He had just won the GOP primary in June 2026 over challenger Mark Lynch and was seeking reelection this fall. Nancy Mace is considering a run, and the vacancy has already set off a scramble among potential successors as national Republican figures move quickly behind the scenes.

Graham chaired the Senate Budget Committee along with a key appropriations subcommittee. His temporary replacement would only hold the seat while the party nomination process and the general-election contest play out on a compressed timetable.

The 17th Amendment leaves the details of filling Senate vacancies to the states. South Carolina has faced similar pressure before, including the 1954 death of Sen. Burnet Maybank, when a Senate vacancy rapidly reshaped the nomination process. This time, the schedule is especially tight because the governor’s appointment and the Republican primary are advancing at the same time.