The sudden death of four-term Sen. Lindsey Graham this weekend has injected even more uncertainty into a turbulent campaign season.
At the time of his death, the South Carolina Republican was running for his fifth six-year term. Last month, he handily defeated his primary challengers, a field that included conservative insurgent Mark Lynch.
He was set to face the Democratic nominee, pediatrician Annie Andrews, in November. On Sunday, Andrews issued a statement offering her condolences to Graham’s family and asking South Carolina residents to join her in “setting partisanship aside and offering gratitude” for Graham’s decades of service to the state.
Graham’s death will likely set off a struggle for the seat among Republicans in the reliably red state. Under South Carolina law, the Republican vacancy will be filled in a special primary election to be held by Aug. 11, with a runoff election between the top two finishers scheduled for Aug. 25 if none of the contenders receive a majority of the vote.
“Lindsey Graham is irreplaceable. What you do, however, is you try to move on, and our state will have to move on,” Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., said Sunday on ABC’s “This Wek” program. “I think August will be a very busy month in South Carolina as we start the process of finding the Republican nominee for this November’s ballot.”
