A political scramble erupted in South Carolina within hours of Sen. Lindsey Graham’s death, as one ambitious Republican began quietly testing the waters for his now-vacant seat.
Graham, 71, passed away Saturday night following a medical emergency at his Capitol Hill home. According to his campaign, the veteran senator suffered what officials called a sudden and brief illness.
Emergency responders were dispatched to the scene around 8:30 p.m. after reports of a man experiencing chest pains, and crews soon began CPR when he went into cardiac arrest, according to The Washington Post
He was rushed to George Washington University Hospital, where doctors were unable to save him.
His office confirmed his death in a statement issued in the pre-dawn hours of Sunday, requesting space to grieve privately. “Senator Graham’s family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period,” the statement read.
For more than two decades, Graham had built a reputation in Washington as a fierce defender of an assertive American foreign policy, serving in the Senate since 2003.
He had cruised through his Republican primary this cycle and entered the general election as the clear front-runner against Democrat Dr. Annie Andrews, even if a handful of analysts hesitated to call the outcome guaranteed.
South Carolina law now places the decision of an interim successor in the hands of Republican Gov. Henry McMaster, who can appoint someone to hold the seat until voters settle the matter this fall.
Yet one name surfaced almost immediately as a potential contender, and it wasn’t waiting for McMaster’s blessing.
Nancy Mace, the outgoing congresswoman who recently lost her bid for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, is reportedly already gauging her chances at a Senate run.
Politico broke the story mere hours after Graham died, reporting that people close to Mace said she had begun commissioning polls for a potential campaign.
Sources described to Politico as familiar with Mace’s thinking pointed out she still has leftover federal campaign cash sitting in accounts from her prior congressional bids, positioning her to move quickly if she chooses.
Mace has held South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District seat since 2021, with her term ending in January.
Questions are already swirling about the speed with which her ambitions became public knowledge, given how little time had passed since Graham’s death was confirmed. Yet the timing controversy may prove to be a minor obstacle compared to what else stands in her way.
Chief among Mace’s problems is her public break with Graham over Iran policy.
The rift intensified earlier this month when Graham told Fox News viewers he was willing to ask South Carolina families to send their children into combat in the Middle East.
“I go back to South Carolina, I’m asking them to send their sons and daughters over to the Middle East,” Graham said on air.
He didn’t stop there, pressing Gulf allies to take a bigger stake in the fight. “What I want you do in the Middle East, to our friends in Saudi Arabia and other places, step forward and say, ‘This is my fight, too. I join America. I’m publicly involved in bringing this regime down,’” Graham declared.
Mace didn’t hold back her disagreement, blasting the comments publicly at the time, The Hill reported. “What in the world would possess anyone to say this?” she said. “I do not want to send South Carolina’s sons and daughters into war with Iran.”
This wouldn’t mark Mace’s first attempt at claiming Graham’s Senate seat. Back in 2014, she mounted a long-shot primary challenge against him and came up well short, finishing in fifth place among the field.
Her most recent statewide campaign fared no better. Mace placed fifth out of five candidates in this year’s gubernatorial primary, pulling in only 12.1 percent of the vote, despite carrying the highest national profile of anyone in the race.
The nomination ultimately went to Attorney General Alan Wilson, who defeated Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette in a runoff.
Beyond her electoral track record, Mace also carries significant baggage with the Trump administration, having repeatedly criticized the president’s approach to the Jeffrey Epstein files and other issues.
That tension became visible during the governor’s race, when Trump threw his support behind a different candidate instead of Mace. Politico reported that Trump allies are now revisiting those grievances as talk turns to Graham’s replacement.
“Trump made clear he did not want her to win that gubernatorial run when he endorsed a rival in that primary, and those in his orbit are already raising those disagreements in private as they discuss Graham’s seat, according to two Trump allies,” the outlet reported.
Trump himself stayed silent Sunday morning on the succession question, though he did honor Graham with a tribute on Truth Social not long after news broke. He praised Graham as a devoted public servant, writing that Graham “was always working, and was a true American Patriot. Lindsey will be greatly missed!!!”
All eyes now turn to Gov. McMaster, who must decide who will temporarily hold one of South Carolina’s most consequential Senate seats while the GOP navigates a messy succession fight in the shadow of tragedy.
