Sen. Darline Graham (R-S.C.) spent part of her victory speech on Tuesday night going after her Democratic opponent’s support for “government-run health care,” while sharing a personal anecdote that inadvertently undercut her point. “Gun control, government-run health care, abortion until the moment of birth—bad idea after bad idea. Annie Andrews backs them all,” Graham said. Graham then went on to detail her parents’ experiences while she was growing up, including how hard they worked even after they fell ill. “My parents worked long, hard hours to make ends meet,” Graham told the crowd. “We didn’t take vacations. If they were sick, they had to get up and go to work because if the doors weren’t open, we weren’t making money. My mother passed away when I was 11, and my father just over a year later.”Darline Graham: Government run health care…. bad idea after bad idea. Annie Andrews backs it all. I have a different background. My parents worked long, hard hours. If that were sick, they had to get up and go to work. My mother passed away when I was 11 and my father just over… pic.twitter.com/fvFCrmudhi— Acyn (@Acyn) August 26, 2026“She complaining about the Democrat who wants everyone to have health care... while explaining how her parents died young because they couldn’t see doctors,” Jeopardy! champion Hemant Mehta wrote on X.“I’m not sure that’s the winning message she thinks it is,” noted Amy McGrath, a former Marine fighter pilot and former Democratic candidate for Kentucky Senate, in a post on X.“Does she realize she just made the argument for her opponent?” Democratic strategist and radio host Leslie Marshall asked in a post on X.Andrews, a pediatrician who is the Democratic nominee for South Carolina Senate, also called out Graham’s remarks in a CNN interview on Wednesday. Andrews, who has criticized Medicaid cuts, said she supports a public option as part of her policy platform.“So what she said there was that her health care plan is, ‘You should work hard until you die,’” Andrews said, reflecting on Graham’s speech. “...I believe that we deserve better. I believe that Darline’s parents deserved better. I believe that health care is a human right.”