The Result
Democrat Annie Andrews has been recorded as the winner of the South Carolina U.S. Senate Seat (Class II) general election held November 3, 2026. An unofficial election-night snapshot from the South Carolina Election Commission, timestamped 10:15 p.m. on November 3, showed Andrews with 933,080 votes to incumbent Darline Graham's 859,014, a margin of 74,066 votes, according to a spreadsheet posted at scvotes.gov; the general election certification status is listed as "counting," and the South Carolina Election Commission has not certified a final tally.
The Race
The contest drew a crowded field and an unusual path to the general election ballot.
The Republican primary on June 9, 2026, was won by Lindsey Graham, who had held the seat since January 3, 2003, according to the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress. Graham won that primary nearly two-to-one over second-place finisher Mark Lynch, 264,091 votes to 134,360. Graham died suddenly this summer and his sister Darline Graham defeated Ralph Norman in a certified special runoff on August 25, 2026, determined the Republican general election nominee. President Trump endorsed her.
On the Democratic side, Andrews won the certified June 9 primary with 226,075 votes. Kasie Whitener advanced from the Libertarian primary on the same date.
Incumbent's Legislative Record
In the 119th Congress, Lindsey Graham served on the Senate Appropriations Committee, the Judiciary Committee, the Environment and Public Works Committee, and the Budget Committee, where he held the chairmanship, according to a January 2025 announcement on his Senate website (lgraham.senate.gov).
Graham sponsored several bills in the 119th Congress, according to congress.gov: S. 2, the Secure America Act; S. 775, the SAFE Act of 2025; S. 304, the Birthright Citizenship Act of 2025; and S. 3546, the Sunset Section 230 Act.
Money
The fundraising gap between the two general election candidates was wide.
Andrews reported total receipts of $24,216,840, approximately 12.6 times Darline Graham's $1,917,646. Andrews reported total disbursements of $22,507,375 and cash on hand of $1,709,465. Graham reported total disbursements of $1,283,216 and cash on hand of $634,429.
As of November 4, 2026, AllCiv's South Carolina Senate race page (allciv.com) reports $15,793,631 in reported independent expenditures, with an additional $58,028,391 in pending notices, for a combined total-with-pending of $73,822,022.
SECURITY IS STRENGTH PAC was the largest single outside spender among those listed, with $6,386,158 in reported expenditures, ahead of PALMETTO ACTION at $3,604,574. Across the race, outside groups reported $8,193,149 in spending supporting candidates and $7,600,481 opposing candidates, with support exceeding opposition by $592,668.
By candidate, outside spending with pending notices totaled $29,734,776 directed at Andrews and $25,050,663 directed at Darline Graham.
Pre-Election Indicators
The race carried a consensus rating of "Lean Republican" as of October 23, 2026, with Cook and Inside Elections also at Lean Republican on that date and Sabato's Crystal Ball at Lean Republican as of October 28, 2026. A Legis1 polling average as of November 1, 2026, based on 57 polls, showed Darline Graham leading Andrews 46.9 percent to 45.7 percent, a margin of 1.2 points. Kalshi prediction markets as of November 3, 2026, placed the Republican probability at 67.33 percent and the Democratic probability at 32.67 percent, on a reported volume of 10,359,791.
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