Welcome to a special edition of At the Races! Throughout the 2026 primary season, watch for these updates from the CQ Roll Call campaign team on what you need to know for Election Day. Know someone who’d like to get this newsletter? They can subscribe here. By Daniela Altimari, Nick Eskow and Mary Ellen McIntire South Carolina Republican voters decide Tuesday on a replacement for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham in a special election runoff that will test President Donald Trump’s political clout, which has taken a few hits this primary season. Graham won the June 9 GOP primary but died on July 11 from an aortic tear. His sister, Darline Graham, who was appointed to serve out his remaining term, is vying with Rep. Ralph Norman in the special election runoff to be the Republican nominee for the full six years in the Senate. Darline Graham, who has never held elective office, entered the race at Trump’s urging just days after her brother’s unexpected death. Since then, the president has forcefully advocated on her behalf, hoping for Graham to avoid the fate that’s befallen several primary losers endorsed by him this cycle. “We’re going to elect Sen. Darline Graham to fight, fight, fight for South Carolina and to always put America first,” the president said at a Friday rally in Myrtle Beach, where he pointedly did not mention Norman. “What I really want you to do is pretend, please, that I’m on the ballot.” The race between Graham and Norman will also test how much emphasis Republican voters place on foreign policy. Graham’s brother was a well-known defense hawk and foreign policy interventionist, but she is taking a different approach. During a recent debate, Graham, who led the state’s commission for the blind, acknowledged that she was “not that informed on national security” matters. Norman, who has served in the House since 2017 and came in third in the June gubernatorial primary, pounced on social media: “South Carolina deserves a Senator who UNDERSTANDS Foreign Policy.” In addition to Trump, Graham has the backing of Gov. Henry McMaster and Rep. Russell Fry, who finished third in the first round of balloting. Norman has the state’s two most recent former governors in his corner: Mark Sanford, who also sought the Senate nomination, and Nikki Haley. While Tuesday’s runoff caps a compressed campaign, it also marks the fourth time that Republican voters have cast ballots since the initial round of primaries in June. Some officials told ABC News 4 in Charleston they worry voter fatigue could drive down turnout. The runoff winner will face pediatrician Annie Andrews, the Democratic nominee, in November. Oklahoma Trump’s endorsement also looms over the Republican runoff for the open governorship in deep-red Oklahoma. His candidate, former state Sen. Mike Mazzei, finished second in June’s initial round of voting, just behind state Attorney General Gentner Drummond. So far this year, the president's gubernatorial picks have lost primaries in Georgia, Iowa, South Carolina, Minnesota and Wyoming. In the open Senate race, Sooner State Democrats are deciding the runoff between N’Kiyla Jasmine Thomas, a nurse who identifies as a democratic socialist, and moderate former nonprofit executive Jim Priest in the race to take on GOP Rep. Kevin Hern, the heavy favorite to prevail in November. Georgia’s 13th District Voters in Georgia’s heavily Democratic 13th District are deciding on a successor to the late Rep. David Scott. His daughter Marcye Scott led with 46 percent in the July special election for the Atlanta-area seat, falling short of the majority needed to win outright. She faces a runoff Tuesday against fellow Democrat Everton Blair, a former Gwinnett County school board chair, who took 37 percent last month. The winner will serve out the late congressman’s tenure through the end of the year. Democratic state Rep. Jasmine Clark is the heavy favorite to win a full two-year term this fall after defeating five other hopefuls, including Blair, in the regular primary in May. Photo finish South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman, left, scored an endorsement in the special election runoff from former Gov. Mark Sanford, who finished fourth in the Aug. 11 primary. The pair are seen here at an event for GOP candidates in Charleston on Aug. 6. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call) Subscribe now using this link so you don’t miss out on the best news and analysis from our team.
