‘Darline is not Lindsey’: Could a Graham really lose South Carolina for the GOP?

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It was the kind of opportunity where Sen. Darline Graham’s brother thrived – squaring off with a witness in a Senate hearing, often with a fiery reaction.

But as Darline Graham read questions from her notes last week to former special counsel Jack Smith, it soon became clear this would not be a Lindsey Graham-esque moment.

Graham, appointed to finish her brother’s term after he unexpectedly died in July, scolded Smith for collecting her late brother’s phone data as part of his investigation into President Donald Trump’s conduct around the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. The late Sen. Graham had been a vocal critic of Smith’s collection of GOP lawmakers’ data.

“Do you really believe that Lindsey was going to destroy evidence that was not even in his possession?” she asked.

“No, I believe your brother was a patriotic public servant,” Smith replied. “He was not a target of our investigation, and in fact he likely would have been a witness in our case.”

Graham read a few follow-up questions before taking a breath, cutting Smith off and looking back down at her notes.

“Do you know what I think? I think you are just trying to bully my brother and other allies of President Trump. You caused my brother and a lot of other senators a lot of stress, and that makes me sick,” Graham said, looking at her papers between sentences . “You should be ashamed of yourself.”

Perhaps it was because a colleague’s basketball-related gaffe consumed the headlines, but the punch didn’t land. What may have become a moment to elicit sympathy for her family and put Smith in his place instead seemingly failed to resonate in South Carolina.

Even after a crash course in politics this summer following her brother’s sudden death, Darline Graham, the candidate, remains very different from Lindsey Graham, the candidate. Her campaign performance is coming under increased scrutiny as Republicans in South Carolina and Washington rush to bolster her with millions in new ad spending.

Democratic nominee Annie Andrews is newly competitive in a state President Donald Trump won two years ago by 18 points. A Democrat hasn’t won a Senate seat in South Carolina since 1998.

“The only real concern for us, statewide, is Darline’s race. And I still think she’ll win. If the election were held today though, I think she’d only win by like two to maybe three points. I don’t think that will be the case come Election Day,” a top staffer on a different statewide GOP candidate’s team told CNN, with a reminder that South Carolina does have straight-party voting.

Republicans have complained Graham is being outworked by her Democratic opponent into October. Some have criticized what they see as a lack of urgency and strategy but believe her campaign can be turned around before November.

“I would not be surprised if we saw (GOP candidate for governor) Alan Wilson win by 10 to 12 percentage points and Darline win by two to four,” said Dorchester County Republican Party Chairman CJ Westfall, who was a vocal critic of Graham’s campaign in the special primary. “She doesn’t have the fundraising, she doesn’t have the energy, and she doesn’t have the enthusiasm behind her.”

Graham’s campaign has pushed back on concerns she’s in trouble, saying she’s endured “more than a month of nonstop misleading ads” against her.

“South Carolinians are now beginning to learn the truth,” Graham campaign spokesperson T.W. Arrighi said in a statement. “Sen. Graham is winning and will win in November.”

“We are going to keep fighting, keep plugging ahead, and I’m still cautiously optimistic, you know? I’m not going to take anything for granted; that’s why I’m trying to hit every voter that I can, every corner of the state,” Graham told CNN-affiliate WYFF in an interview this week.

“Darline is not Lindsey” is a phrase often repeated around South Carolina these days. For some, it’s simply an observation of differences between the siblings.

Lindsey Graham was a force on the campaign trail and in fundraising, who relished holding court with reporters, fellow candidates and constituents alike.

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He had his own share of Palmetto State critics , with some seeing him as not conservative enough while others felt he’d become too loyal to Trump. But he seemed to let the criticism roll off his back, continuing to raise money and win elections. In June, he spent millions warding off multiple challengers to eventually – and comfortably – win his primary. In 2020, more than $280 million was spent on the contest between Graham and Democrat Jaime Harrison when polling suggested the race was tight. Graham went on to win that year by 10 points.

His sister has described campaigning as “grueling” and “brutal.” She’s often seen reading off notes. While gracious and affable, she also appears more cautious and reserved at her less frequent, more orchestrated appearances.

Those close to the Graham family have called any expectation that she be exactly like her brother unfair, pointing to their very different lives.

Graham herself often discusses how she differs from her late brother. Darline is a married mother of two and a grandmother, while Lindsey remained single. The siblings both went into public service, but Lindsey chose the US Air Force and politics, while Darline spent much of her career helping people with disabilities find jobs. She was the commissioner of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind from 2019 until she was appointed to finish the remainder of her brother’s current Senate term after his sudden passing in July.

She often tells voters that she plans to earn his seat but adds that no one can ever fill his shoes.

In her short political career, Darline Graham has pitched herself as more conservative than her brother, breaking with some of his positions, like eliminating the filibuster or a more hardline approach to immigration, to side with President Trump. She often talks about their polar opposite interests when it comes to politics, noting Lindsey loved foreign policy and she’s more interested in the price of groceries.

That divergence was on display during a shaky primary debate in August, when Darline Graham answered a question about Taiwan by saying, “National security is not my thing.”

When asked about Taiwan and the South China Sea during a debate with Rep. Ralph Norman Tuesday night, interim GOP Sen. Darline Graham said, “national security is not my thing.”

President Trump defended her much-lampooned performance by complimenting her honesty. Her allies paint her as a humble working mom whose passions lie in domestic issues and is juggling a Senate campaign after spending decades behind the scenes.

“They had the same hardscrabble upbringing in the back of a bar, back of a pool hall. They are cut from the same cloth, but they have very big differences,” a source with the Graham campaign said, while noting that she’s been learning her way around the Senate, campaigning and, simultaneously, grieving her brother. “Their personalities aren’t the same in that she’s very funny and affable, but she’s not a part-time stand-up comedian like Lindsey was.”

For others, the comparison between the Grahams is more of an indictment of a campaign that sometimes still feels fledgling, less than a month out from the election.

“When Lindsey was our senator, he helped a lot of the down-ballot people in tough races. He’d come campaign for them. He would overlap the get-out-the-vote efforts, even the door-knocking efforts. He was writing checks to the SCGOP,” recalled Westfall, who said that despite his criticism, he plans to vote for Darline Graham. “Her campaign has kind of disappeared.”

Graham’s campaign has chalked up her lighter campaign schedule to a jam-packed Senate schedule. Sources pointed to a marked increase in GOP event appearances around the state and local media interviews this week, since the Senate went into recess, while noting, “You’ll continue to see her out there even more as we as we close out the race.”

The top Republican super PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund, recently committed $5 million to the race and Trump is expected to return to the state before Election Day to campaign for her.

Some of Graham’s primary opponents have vigorously supported her general election efforts, like Trump-allied Rep. Russell Fry, who is featuring Graham at his “Freedom Fry” event at the end of the month. Rep. Ralph Norman, who lost to Graham in the special primary runoff, has endorsed Graham and says he supports the Republican ticket, though vocal discontent remains from some of his supporters organizing a campaign to write in his name.

The staffer on a different statewide Republican campaign added that the $5 million infusion from the Senate Leadership Fund is “not a small amount” in South Carolina and could give Graham “more of a runway where you can exhale here at the end.”

Graham and her allies have gone all in on using anti-trans messaging against Andrews, seeing her as especially vulnerable on the issue because she is a pediatrician. One TV ad from a pro-Graham super PAC depicts a transgender person ominously approaching a young girl in a grocery store aisle and saying Andrews “has my vote.”

Andrews released as a direct-to-camera TV ad Thursday rebutting the anti-trans attacks, including Trump referring to her with a slur, saying she wants voters to hear her “loud and clear: I don’t support biological men playing women’s sports and I don’t support – and haven’t ever performed – gender surgery for minors.”

At least one veteran GOP operative said Graham was focusing too much on the wrong issues, noting “the only thing she is talking about on Twitter is Annie Andrews and trans issues.”

“That train left the station in 2024,” the veteran strategist told CNN. “She wrapped herself in the Trump flag and it is her only play, and in an environment like this, it could prove the exact wrong play.”

The troubles on the Republican side have encouraged Democrats who are finding fresh opportunities in red states across the country in the final month of the midterms.

A new super PAC, Fresh Start SC, sprung up last month and announced an initial $2.5 million investment in the race. So far, it’s run at least two ads against Graham, including one released Wednesday that criticizes her as too close with the health insurance industry.

“This race is in play because people in South Carolina are pissed off about high prices,” said Jody Murphy, a Democratic strategist working for the group a pro-Andrews group. “They’re tired of the corruption in Washington that’s driving up costs, and they want someone who will actually do something about it – that ain’t Darline.”

When CNN asked Andrews how she, as a Democrat, is pitching herself to disillusioned Republicans, she alluded to President Trump’s role in Graham’s campaign.

“I was not handpicked to run,” Andrews said in a phone interview. “I don’t owe anybody in Washington. I will be an independent voice for South Carolina. I will put South Carolina first. And if you care more about your bills than your political party or than the politics in DC, then this campaign is for you.”

The two are set for their first and maybe only debate Sunday. It is a high-stakes meeting for Graham, given it was a primary debate where she admitted national security “is not my thing,” which ultimately became the biggest breakout moment she’s had.

CNN’s Mark Preston contributed to this report.

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参议员达琳·格雷厄姆的哥哥很擅长这类机会——在参议院听证会上与证人对峙，而且常常反应激烈。

但上周，当达琳·格雷厄姆向前特别检察官杰克·史密斯宣读笔记中的问题时，很快就表明这不会是林赛·格雷厄姆式的时刻。

格雷厄姆参议员在她哥哥于7月意外去世后被任命完成其剩余任期。她曾斥责史密斯收集她已故哥哥的手机数据，作为其调查唐纳德·特朗普总统在2021年1月6日国会大厦骚乱事件中行为的一部分。已故的格雷厄姆参议员生前曾公开批评史密斯收集共和党议员数据的做法。

“你真的相信林赛会销毁根本不在他手中的证据吗？”她问道。

“不，我相信你哥哥是一位爱国的公务员，”史密斯回答说。“他不是我们调查的目标，事实上，他很可能是我们案件的证人。”

格雷厄姆读了几道后续问题，然后深吸一口气，打断了史密斯的话，低头继续看笔记。

“你知道我是怎么想的吗？我觉得你就是在欺负我哥哥和特朗普总统的其他盟友。你给我哥哥和很多其他参议员造成了很大的压力，这让我感到恶心，”格雷厄姆一边说着，一边看着手里的文件。“你应该感到羞耻。”

或许是因为同事在篮球场上的失言占据了各大媒体的头条，所以这番话并没有起到应有的效果。原本这或许能博得人们对她家人的同情，并让史密斯认清自己的位置，但结果却似乎在南卡罗来纳州并未引起共鸣。

即使在今年夏天哥哥猝然离世后经历了一次政治速成班，候选人达琳·格雷厄姆与她之前的候选人林赛·格雷厄姆仍然截然不同。随着南卡罗来纳州和华盛顿的共和党人争相投入数百万美元的新广告费用来支持她，她的竞选表现正受到越来越多的关注。

民主党候选人安妮·安德鲁斯在南卡罗来纳州重新展现出竞争力，而两年前特朗普总统曾以18个百分点的优势赢得该州。自1998年以来，民主党人就再也没有赢得过南卡罗来纳州的参议院席位。

“就全州而言，我们唯一真正关心的就是达琳的选情。我仍然认为她会赢。但如果今天就举行选举，我认为她最多只能赢两到三个百分点。但我认为到了选举日那天情况就不会是这样了。”另一位共和党州级候选人团队的高级工作人员告诉CNN，并提醒大家南卡罗来纳州实行的是政党直选制。

共和党人抱怨格雷厄姆在10月份的竞选活动中落后于她的民主党对手。一些人批评她缺乏紧迫感和策略，但他们相信她的竞选活动可以在11月之前扭转局面。

“如果共和党州长候选人艾伦·威尔逊以10到12个百分点的优势获胜，达琳以2到4个百分点的优势胜出，我不会感到惊讶，”多切斯特县共和党主席CJ·韦斯特福尔说道。他曾在特别初选中公开批评格雷厄姆的竞选活动。“她缺乏筹款能力，缺乏精力，也缺乏支持者的热情。”

格雷厄姆的竞选团队反驳了有关她处境困难的担忧，称她已经遭受了“一个多月不间断的误导性广告”的攻击。

格雷厄姆竞选发言人TW Arrighi在一份声明中表示：“南卡罗来纳州民众现在开始了解真相了。格雷厄姆参议员正在赢得选举，并且将在11月继续获胜。”

“我们会继续战斗，继续努力前进，我仍然保持谨慎乐观的态度，你知道吗？我不会把任何事情视为理所当然；这就是为什么我要尽我所能接触到每一位选民，走遍全州的每一个角落，”格雷厄姆本周在接受 CNN 附属电视台 WYFF 采访时说道。

“达琳不是林赛”这句话最近在南卡罗来纳州经常被提及。对一些人来说，这只是对这对姐妹之间差异的一种描述。

林赛·格雷厄姆在竞选活动和筹款方面都极具影响力，他乐于与记者、其他候选人和选民们交流。

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他在南卡罗来纳州也有不少批评者，有人认为他不够保守，也有人觉得他对特朗普过于忠诚。但他似乎对这些批评毫不在意，继续筹款并赢得选举。6月，他花费数百万美元击退多位挑战者，最终轻松赢得党内初选。2020年，格雷厄姆与民主党候选人杰米·哈里森的竞选花费超过2.8亿美元，当时民调显示选情胶着。最终，格雷厄姆以10个百分点的优势赢得了当年的选举。

他的妹妹形容竞选活动“艰苦卓绝”且“残酷无情”。人们经常看到她照着稿子念稿子。虽然她举止优雅、和蔼可亲，但在她较少露面、且经过精心安排的场合，她也显得更加谨慎和矜持。

与格雷厄姆一家关系密切的人认为，期望她和哥哥完全一样是不公平的，并指出他们的生活截然不同。

格雷厄姆本人经常谈到她与已故哥哥的不同之处。达琳已婚，育有两个孩子，并且是一位祖母，而林赛则一直单身。姐妹俩都投身公共服务，但林赛选择了美国空军和政界，而达琳则将大部分职业生涯用于帮助残疾人士就业。她自2019年起担任南卡罗来纳州盲人委员会委员，直到今年7月林赛突然去世后，她被任命接替林赛剩余的参议员任期。

她经常告诉选民，她计划赢得他的席位，但她也补充说，没有人能够取代他。

在短暂的政治生涯中，达琳·格雷厄姆一直标榜自己比哥哥更加保守，她与哥哥的一些立场相左，例如反对废除冗长辩论规则或对移民采取更强硬的立场，转而支持特朗普总统。她经常谈到兄妹俩在政治上的截然相反的兴趣，指出林赛热爱外交政策，而她更关心食品价格。

这种分歧在 8 月份一场不太顺利的初选辩论中显露无疑，当时达琳·格雷厄姆在回答有关台湾的问题时说：“国家安全不是我关心的事情。”

周二晚间，在与众议员拉尔夫·诺曼的辩论中，当被问及台湾和南海问题时，共和党临时参议员达琳·格雷厄姆表示，“国家安全不是我关心的问题”。

特朗普总统为她饱受嘲讽的表现辩护，称赞她为人诚实。她的盟友则将她描绘成一位谦逊的职业母亲，热衷于国内事务，在幕后工作数十年后，如今正忙于参议院竞选。

“她们都出身贫寒，在酒吧或台球厅的后屋里长大。她们是同一类人，但性格上却截然不同，”格雷厄姆竞选团队的一位消息人士说道，同时指出她一直在努力适应参议院的运作，积极参与竞选活动，并同时承受着失去哥哥的悲痛。“她们的性格也不一样，她非常风趣和蔼，但她不像林赛那样是个兼职脱口秀演员。”

对另一些人来说，将格雷厄姆父子进行比较，更多的是对这场竞选的控诉，这场竞选有时仍然感觉像是刚起步，而距离选举还有不到一个月的时间。

“林赛担任参议员时，他帮助了很多在选情胶着的低级别候选人。他会亲自为他们助选，参与选民动员工作，甚至挨家挨户敲门拉票。他给南卡罗来纳州共和党开支票，”韦斯特福尔回忆道。韦斯特福尔表示，尽管林赛曾批评过他，但他还是计划投票给达琳·格雷厄姆。“她的竞选活动似乎已经销声匿迹了。”

格雷厄姆的竞选团队将她竞选日程的减少归因于参议院繁忙的日程安排。消息人士指出，自参议院休会以来，本周她在全州各地参加共和党活动和接受当地媒体采访的次数显著增加，同时他们也表示：“随着竞选进入尾声，你会看到她更加频繁地出现在公众视野中。”

共和党最大的超级政治行动委员会“参议院领导基金”最近承诺向这场竞选投入 500 万美元，预计特朗普将在选举日之前重返该州为她助选。

格雷厄姆的一些初选对手大力支持她的普选竞选，例如与特朗普结盟的众议员拉塞尔·弗莱，他将在本月底举办的“自由弗莱”活动上重点推介格雷厄姆。在特别初选决胜轮中败给格雷厄姆的众议员拉尔夫·诺曼已公开支持格雷厄姆，并表示支持共和党候选人，尽管他的一些支持者仍在组织一场运动，要求在选票上填写他的名字，表达不满。

另一位州级共和党竞选工作人员补充说，参议院领导基金注入的 500 万美元在南卡罗来纳州“不是一笔小数目”，这可能会让格雷厄姆“在最后阶段有更多的喘息之机”。

格雷厄姆和她的盟友全力以赴地利用反跨性别言论攻击安德鲁斯，认为她作为一名儿科医生，在这个问题上尤其容易受到攻击。一个支持格雷厄姆的超级政治行动委员会制作的电视广告中，一名跨性别者在超市过道里阴森森地接近一个小女孩，并说安德鲁斯“得到了我的选票”。

安德鲁斯周四发布了一则直接面向镜头的电视广告，反驳了反跨性别者的攻击，包括特朗普对她的侮辱性称呼。她说，她希望选民们“清楚地听到她的声音：我不支持生理男性参加女子运动，我不支持——也从未为未成年人进行过——性别手术。”

至少有一位资深的共和党人士表示，格雷厄姆过于关注错误的问题，并指出“她在推特上唯一谈论的就是安妮·安德鲁斯和跨性别问题”。

这位资深策略师告诉CNN：“那列火车2024年就开走了。她把自己包裹在特朗普的旗帜下，这是她唯一的选择，但在这种环境下，这很可能被证明是一个完全错误的选择。”

共和党方面的困境鼓舞了民主党人，他们在全国各州的中期选举最后一个月里找到了新的机会。

上个月，一个名为“Fresh Start SC”的超级政治行动委员会突然成立，并宣布向这场竞选投入250​​万美元的初始资金。迄今为止，该委员会至少投放了两则攻击格雷厄姆的广告，其中包括周三发布的一则广告，批评她与医疗保险行业关系过于密切。

“这场选举之所以充满变数，是因为南卡罗来纳州的人民对高物价感到愤怒，”支持安德鲁斯的民主党策略师乔迪·墨菲说道。“他们厌倦了华盛顿的腐败推高物价，他们想要一个真正能解决问题的人——而达琳显然不是那样的人。”

当 CNN 问安德鲁斯，作为一名民主党人，她如何向失望的共和党人推销自己时，她暗示了特朗普总统在格雷厄姆竞选活动中的作用。

“我并非被钦点参选，”安德鲁斯在电话采访中说道。“我不欠华盛顿任何人情。我将成为南卡罗来纳州的独立代言人。我会把南卡罗来纳州的利益放在首位。如果你更关心你的账单，而不是你的政党或华盛顿的政治，那么这场竞选就是为你而设的。”

两人将于周日进行首次辩论，也可能是唯一一次辩论。对于格雷厄姆来说，这是一场至关重要的辩论，因为她在之前的初选辩论中承认国家安全“不是我的强项”，而这最终却成为了她职业生涯中最引人注目的时刻。

CNN的马克·普雷斯顿对本报道亦有贡献。