Trump puts $827,000 MAGA money behind Lindsey Graham’s sister Darline in tense Senate runoff

President Donald Trump’s political network made a late financial push for Darline Graham on Monday, with MAGA Inc. spending more than $827,000 to support her bid for the Republican nomination in South Carolina’s special US Senate runoff.

The spending came just a day before Republican voters decide between Graham, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s sister, and Rep. Ralph Norman in a contest that has increasingly become a test of Trump’s endorsement against Norman’s political experience and a familiar Republican name.

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MAGA Inc., the super PAC backing Trump and other aligned Republicans, had largely stayed out of this year’s midterm contests until now. The latest expenditure was directed toward text-message outreach and calls to voters, according to federal campaign finance filings.

The group had more than $400 million in cash at the end of July, leaving questions about how aggressively it would deploy its resources in this year’s races. Republican Senate leaders have been pressing Trump’s political operation to provide greater financial support to candidates endorsed by the president.

Trump makes final appeal for Graham

Trump has given Graham unusually strong backing compared with many of his other endorsed candidates this election cycle. He encouraged her to enter the race and traveled to South Carolina on Friday to campaign alongside her in Myrtle Beach.

During a second tele-rally for Graham on Monday, Trump urged Republican voters to support her, saying a vote for her would "go down as one of the best votes you've ever made for a political person."

"I asked her to do it. I got her into this whole thing," Trump said in closing. "I have to make sure she gets in because there will be nobody better."

The tele-rally was sponsored by a pro-Graham super PAC, a moderator said, while the group simultaneously sent voters text messages encouraging them to cast their ballots for Graham.

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Trump also made a direct appeal during Friday’s rally, telling "every South Carolina patriot to go to the polls and vote for Darline Graham."

The president has had a long political relationship with Lindsey Graham, and his involvement in Darline Graham’s campaign has been more extensive than his role in several other Senate contests this year.

Graham faced criticism early in the campaign for spending time in Washington voting in the Senate rather than campaigning in South Carolina. Some voters said they were unfamiliar with her views and political positions.

She sought to close that gap on Monday with appearances in Aiken and Seneca, along with a news conference with Gov. Henry McMaster. McMaster, who appointed her to temporarily fill the Senate seat, endorsed her on Friday.

Asked Monday why he had waited until late last week to back Graham, McMaster said: "I thought that was the right time."

When McMaster made the interim appointment last month, a person familiar with his thinking said the governor had not initially expected Graham to seek the seat herself.

Norman leans on experience

Norman spent the final day of the runoff campaigning with pastors and was scheduled to conclude his efforts in Greenville County, the state’s most populous county and traditionally the biggest source of votes in statewide Republican primaries.

Greenville has also proved less predictable than other parts of the state in recent Republican contests. Norman won the county during this year’s gubernatorial primary, while it was among the few counties Lindsey Graham lost in the June primary that originally set the Senate race in motion.

Norman has made the influence of outside spending a central theme of his campaign, attacking the super PAC support behind Graham and arguing that wealthy interests are seeking to shape her candidacy.

The businessman has also put substantial personal money into his campaign while highlighting his congressional record and experience in business.

Throughout the runoff, Norman has pointed to his record of supporting Trump’s policies in Congress. He has also sought to portray Graham as inexperienced and accused the "Washington elite" backing her of "dictating the terms and giving her the political answers" in her campaign.

At a town hall in Anderson on Friday, Norman again contrasted his political and business experience with Graham’s status as a newcomer to elected politics, arguing that the Senate is not a place to get "training on the job."

"We've had a short runway, and I'm so glad I did this," Norman told voters at the event. "You have to know it. You have to be in it, and that's one of the advantages that I have."

The winner of Tuesday’s Republican runoff will face Democrat Annie Andrews in the November election. No Democrat has won a statewide elected office in South Carolina in two decades.

With inputs from agencies