South Carolina Senate runoff follows crowded GOP vote

Norman entered the race after an unsuccessful campaign this year for the GOP gubernatorial nomination. Fry, a two-term congressman, also ran as a Trump ally and emphasized his support for the president. Sanford, who once mounted a short-lived and unsuccessful challenge to Trump in the 2020 Republican presidential primaries, framed his campaign around fiscal restraint and the federal debt. Lynch, meanwhile, had already faced Graham in the June Republican Senate primary and lost by nearly 30 points.

The primary also came after Trump’s pick in another South Carolina race did not secure a clean path to victory. He backed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette for the GOP gubernatorial nomination before the state’s early June primary. Evette finished first but later lost the runoff to South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson by a wide margin. Trump then also endorsed Wilson days before that runoff.

The South Carolina contest matters because the winner of the GOP runoff will enter the fall as the clear favorite in a state that leans strongly Republican, with Democratic nominee Annie Andrews, a pediatrician, waiting on the other side. It also offers another measure of whether Trump’s endorsements still decide crowded primaries or simply help shape them. For voters watching from outside South Carolina, the takeaway is simple: the runoff will show whether Trump’s backing still seals the deal in a race Republicans are expected to keep.