COLUMBIA, S.C. — National Democrats are spending money in South Carolina for the first time this cycle. Senate Majority PAC, the main outside group backing Senate Democrats, said Thursday it is putting $750,000 into digital ads for Annie Andrews in her race against Republican Sen. Darline Graham.
The group has never before spent in the state. A spokesperson said the ads will center on health care, contrasting the two candidates and blaming Graham for rising medical bills and prescription drug prices.
The money follows two new polls that show a close contest five days before the Nov. 3 election. A Siena poll found Andrews and Graham tied at 48% each among likely voters. Andrews drew 57% of independents in that survey and picked up 7% of Republicans.
A poll by the East Carolina University Center for Survey Research, taken Oct. 19 to 24, had Graham ahead 51% to 47%, inside its credibility interval of plus or minus 3.7 points. Andrews led independents 53% to 43% there, but Graham held 93% of Republicans. More than half of likely voters, 54%, named the economy and cost of living as their top issue.
The tight numbers are unusual for a state Republicans have dominated. President Donald Trump won the state in 2024 by nearly 18 points, and the state has not sent a Democrat to the Senate this century. Trump came to Rock Hill on Oct. 29 for a rally backing Graham.
Graham was appointed by Gov. Henry McMaster after her brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, died in July, and she then won the Republican nomination over U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman. Libertarian Kasie Whitener and Constitution Party nominee Mark Hackett are also on the ballot.
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