Few people outside South Carolina knew who Annie Andrews was just six months ago. But in the 2026 midterms, she has made history as the first Democrat to win a statewide Senate election in the deeply red state since 1998, according to CNN.
Andrews was poised to take on longtime senator Lindsey Graham when she won the Democratic primary in June. When Graham died unexpectedly in July, it threw “us for a loop,” Andrews told Vanity Fair‘s Aidan McLaughlin. Andrews pivoted to campaign against Darline Graham, the late senator’s sister, who was appointed by Governor Henry McMaster to fill his seat through January 2027.
With the blessing of President Donald Trump, Darline Graham opted to run for a full term, facing off against Andrews three weeks ago in a tense debate, during which the Democrat physician faced off against the political neophyte. “Why would we hand Darline Graham a full term in the US Senate? She is unserious and unqualified,” Andrews—who previously ran against Republican Nancy Mace in the 2022 race for South Carolina’s First Congressional District—said.
“In order for a Democrat to win in South Carolina, you need three things,” Charleston political operative Tyler Jones told Vanity Fair in July. “You need a popular Democrat, you need an unpopular Republican, and you need a favorable national environment.” With Trump’s support eroding across the US, Andrews has at least one of those—and if the most recent polling numbers are accurate, Andrews’ popularity has just continued to grow.
Now, she must make good on her promise to “go to Washington and solve problems.” If Lindsey Graham had remained “a John McCain–style center-right Republican,” Andrews told McLaughlin, “I probably wouldn’t have gotten in this race.”
