News Barge · The Guardian: Trump endorsement helps boost Darline Graham in South Carolina primary to replace her late brother in US Senate

Trump endorsement helps boost Darline Graham in South Carolina primary to replace her late brother in US Senate – live

The sister of late South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham is projected to win a special Republican primary election to replace her brother on the November ballot for a full Senate term

Donald Trump helps Darline Graham off the stage during a campaign rally at Myrtle Beach Convention Center in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

Trump endorsement helps boost Darline Graham in primary to replace her late brother

George Chidi

The voters of the eastern corner of South Carolina proved decisive in the race to succeed the late senator Lindsey Graham in the Republican primary runoff on Tuesday.

Horry County, home to Myrtle Beach, has grown tremendously over the last decade, and its Republican voting strength reflects it: it is likely to provide more than 10% of the state’s votes. As the votes were counted, the late senator’s sister, Darline Graham, was running nearly three to one ahead of far-right congressman Ralph Norman there.

Donald Trump visited Myrtle Beach on Friday to campaign for Graham. Voters appeared to respond.

“Who is going to back Trump?” said Bill Bullard of Conway who voted Tuesday morning with his wife Linda. “Who is going to support Trump? It’s just that simple,” he said.

They believed Graham had been undecided on her position on abortion, and would not have Trump’s leadership in office in the next presidency. The decision weighed heavily on their minds, he said. Trump’s endorsement mattered.

Republican senator Tim Scott, who holds the other South Carolina seat, also weighed in with support for Graham, and that may have mattered more. “His endorsement mattered a lot. It was the changing factor. We think the world of Tim Scott.”

South Carolina’s population has increased by more than 700,000 residents over the last decade. That growth has fallen disproportionately in two areas of the state: the northern counties in congressman Ralph Norman’s district and the coastal communities of Horry County and its surrounding areas, represented by another Republican congressman, Russell Fry.

The people moving into South Carolina tend to be Republicans. But they’re not South Carolina Republicans, at least not yet. The web of relationships that the state’s political culture trades on for support hasn’t caught up to many of them yet.

South Carolina has no danger of turning purple, said Zachary Cogan of Lamar, a retired soldier and transplant from what he called the “communist” state of New York. “People who are coming here are, I would say 80-20 are red voters.”

They’re not moving to South Carolina for its politics, he said. “That might have been a third or fourth tier reason for them to come here. They’re coming here because of lower taxes, a better standard of living from what they’re going to import from the North, lower housing costs and the ability to do more things with less government interference. Those are the priorities for people like me. It’s not necessarily the state’s politics, more than it’s what the state has to offer somebody who wants to move here.”

Cogan was a Graham voter, he said.

“Both candidates will be fine candidates for the Senate, either way,” Cogan said. “I’ve heard a lot of criticism for Darline Graham, that, well, she’s going to be learning by experience. But you know what? Maybe more of our representatives need to go into the fray untainted by prior politics.”

Lindsey Graham’s long legacy in South Carolina has lingered beyond his death, influencing the vote for his sister Darline.

“Probably the main reason I voted today: the bypass road here in Aynor is named after my father, and Mr. Lindsey Graham came the day of the dedication,” said Julius H. Goodson, Jr. of Aynor, South Carolina. “This is back in 2011. He came from Washington that morning for the dedication. It rained on the parade.”

Aynor in the northeast corner of Horry County, is often forgotten by state leaders who focus on coastal development. Goodson, Aynor’s former fire chief, said he believed Graham had been different.

Graham was a “$1 million man,” Goodson said. “When he made a million dollars in Washington, he said he had enough. He was working for the people. And I think his sister … I think she’ll be good for South Carolina.”

Trump endorsement helps boost Darline Graham in primary to replace her late brother

George Chidi

The voters of the eastern corner of South Carolina proved decisive in the race to succeed the late senator Lindsey Graham in the Republican primary runoff on Tuesday.

Donald Trump visited Myrtle Beach on Friday to campaign for Graham. Voters appeared to respond.

“Who is going to back Trump?” said Bill Bullard of Conway who voted Tuesday morning with his wife Linda. “Who is going to support Trump? It’s just that simple,” he said.

Darline Graham projected to win South Carolina Republican

Darline Graham, the sister of the late South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham, has won a special Republican primary election to replace her brother on the November ballot for a full Senate term, according to an Associated Press projection.

Graham, who was endorsed by Donald Trump and campaigned alongside the president in Myrtle Beach last week, defeated Ralph Norman, a congressman in the House Freedom Caucus, a group of right-wing Republicans.

Graham led Norman 52% to 48%, or about 15,000 votes, with nearly 90% of the vote counted when AP made its call.

Darline Graham's holds narrow lead Republican Senate primary in South Carolina

The Republican Senate primary in South Carolina has dramatically tightened, with Darline Graham, the late Lindsey Graham’s sister, holding a narrow 52% – 48% lead over far-right congressman Ralph Norman, with 65% of the votes counted. The margin is currently close to 10,000 votes.

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro says he scolded Robert F Kennedy Jr for 'spreading misinformation' on vaccines

Pennsylvania’s governor Josh Shapiro, told reporters on Tuesday that he was late for a news conference on the deadly measles outbreak in Lancaster county because he had been on the phone scolding the US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, for “spreading misinformation” about vaccines.

Kennedy, as we noted earlier, had visited Lancaster county in 2021 to deride vaccines in a region where an estimated 75% of Amish children are not vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella because of a conspiracy theory that the shot causes autism.

“I’ve been sitting out in the parking lot talking to secretary Kennedy who reached out to me this morning, Shapiro said. “I was very very blunt with him and I made very clear that his actions, and the the rhetoric that’s coming from this administration are having a negative impact on communities across America, particularly right here in Pennsylvania, and that there’s real-life consequences to spreading misinformation.”

“There’s real-life consequences to scaring people and not relying on actual doctors and actual medical professionals to provide unbiased information to parents so that we can make reasonable decisions uh for our kids,” Shapiro added.

“Sharing conspiracy theories and misinformation does not help the cause of public health and it leaves people less healthy and less safe and it leaves parents in a position where it’s harder for us to do our jobs to protect our children,” the governor said.

Police seize truck-mounted guillotine near US Capitol in Washington DC

The United States Capitol Police said they “seized a guillotine, which was spotted in the bed of a pickup truck” near the US Capitol on Tuesday.

The police said in a press release, accompanied by photographs of the device, that they arrested the driver of the pickup truck “for Carrying a Dangerous Weapon for being in possession of the guillotine”.

The suspect was identified as Philan-Tam-Duy Le, 35, of Julian, California.

Democrats sue to block US Postal Service from deciding which mail ballots to deliver

Democrats asked a federal court in Washington DC to block Donald Trump’s executive order to restrict mail voting on Tuesday, arguing that the US Postal Service (USPS) does not have the legal authority it claims in a newly published change to its rules which would allow it to decide not to deliver ballots mailed by voters whose eligibility it cannot confirm.

The US supreme court ruled on Monday that a request to block the implementation of Trump’s March executive order from 23 states, and the District of Columbia, had been filed too early, since the USPS had not yet issued a change to its rules.

In the suit, Democratic party officials, including the House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, and the Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, claim that the new USPS rule, set to go into effect on Wednesday, is unlawful.

“Today, we are taking strong, joint legal action to stop Trump’s unlawful attempt to restrict mail-in voting through the Postal Service. Yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling did not say that Trump’s executive order attacking voting rights is constitutional. In America, the law is clear: States have the authority to run elections - not the president,” the Democrats said in a statement.

“We will not stand by while Trump and Republicans try to unnecessarily inject chaos and confusion into our elections, just weeks before voting begins. We are asking a district court to immediately stop the Trump administration from unlawfully disrupting mail-in voting in every state,” they added.

The Democrats also asked the court to hear their motion for a preliminary injunction to block changes to mail voting on September 4, which is the day the midterm elections begin with the first absentee ballots sent to North Carolina voters.

Darline Graham opens up early lead in South Carolina vote count

Polls have now closed in the Republican Senate primary in South Carolina, where voters were asked to replace their previous nominee, the late senator Lindsey Graham, with either his sister, Darline Graham, who was appointed to serve the remainder of his term, of Ralph Norman, a congressman in the House Freedom Caucus, a group of right-wing Republicans.

Graham, who was endorsed by Donald Trump but struggled on the debate stage, leads 56% – 44%, with about 2% of the vote counted, of just over 9,000 votes.

Obama, Bush and Clinton pay tribute to Dolly Parton

Three former US presidents, Barack Obama, George W Bush and Bill Clinton, have added their voices, and those of their spouses, to the chorus of appreciation for the life of the late Dolly Parton.

It’s hard to imagine many people having a bigger impact than Dolly Parton. Born in a one-room cabin, she earned 11 Grammys and an Emmy, built a business empire, helped millions of kids learn to read, and — as if that wasn’t enough — helped accelerate the research that led to the Moderna COVID vaccine. What a life. Michelle and I are thinking of Dolly’s family and her many, many fans.

In a statement, Bush wrote:

Laura and I, along with thousands of her fans, mourn the passing of Dolly Parton. We loved her music and her style. She was a great entertainer and even greater person. We respected her work to promote literacy, advance health, and strengthen communities. Dolly was a talented and hardworking American who will be missed.

Dolly Parton was one of a kind—a great songwriter and performer who told the stories of everyday Americans with honesty, humility, and heart. She rose high from her East Tennessee roots and never forgot where she came from. And she always believed in giving back, especially in her efforts to promote literacy. Hillary and I were big fans and first saw her in 1974, and will always be grateful for the music and the memories. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family, her legion of fans, and everyone who loved her.

Dolly Parton did all the good she could, for all the people she could, for as long as ever she could. From her legendary songwriting to the Imagination Library—which sent 1 million books a month to children across the country—she was the best of America. Dolly, we’ll miss your great heart.

A federal appeals court on Tuesday sided with four Democrats running for Congress on Tuesday, by blocking the Federal Communications Commission from requiring television broadcasters to offer discounted advertising rates to political parties in the run-up to elections, a discount that currently only applies to candidates.

A three-judge panel of the Richmond, Virginia-based 4th Circuit US Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that campaign finance statutes “are clear that neither political parties nor joint fundraising committees with non-candidate members can be entitled” to the discounted rates mandated by the FCC.

The Republican-controlled FCC had voted for a public notice that would allow party-controlled fundraising committees to get the discounted rates in the lead-up to midterm elections in November.

Four Democratic candidates who sued to block the FCC rule change: Jon Ossoff, a Georgia senator; Kristen McDonald Rivet, a Michigan congresswoman; former Ohio senator Sherrod Brown, who is running to return to the Senate; and former North Carolina governor Roy Cooper, who is also running for a Senate seat.

The FCC, the National Republican Congressional Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee argued thayt the court lacked jurisdiction to review the FCC notice.

In June, the US supreme court struck down limits on how much party committees may spend in coordination with federal candidates but did not address whether they could get the lower advertising rates.

Since the Republican party has an enormous cash advantage over Democrats, the ruling, should it stay in place, would help to level the playing field in the broadcast ad war over the coming months.