Democrat Annie Andrews flips South Carolina Senate seat held by Republicans since 1998

Democrat Annie Andrews, a pediatrician who campaigned on healthcare affordability, has won the race for US Senate in South Carolina, making her the first Democrat to represent the state in the Senate for over a quarter century.

Andrews had faced an uphill battle in what has been seen as a reliably Republican state against Darline Graham, the sister of the late Republican powerbroker Lindsey Graham.

The 62-year-old Graham, who had been appointed by South Carolina governor to serve out the remainder of her brother’s term after he died in July aged 71, had been publicly urged to run for office by Donald Trump, who enthusiastically campaigned for her and denigrated her Democratic opponent, including referring to Andrews using a transphobic slur.

But Graham’s lack of national political experience – she admitted she was “not that informed on national security” when asked about US policy on Taiwan during a debate in August – is believed to have made the race more competitive.

The last time South Carolina elected a Democrat to the Senate was in 1998, but a New York Times/Siena poll the week before the election had the two candidates neck and neck, both polling at 48%.

Graham had stayed close to Trump in her platform, including saying she fully trusts Trump on tariffs and the war with Iran, which is deeply unpopular with a majority of Americans.

Andrews, in contrast, had called the war with Iran “illegal” and criticized its effect on gas prices. Andrews said in September she wanted to “find our way out of this illegal, unconstitutional billion-dollar-a-day war overseas”.

Andrews had tried to separate herself from other Democrats on several issues, and faced criticism from LGBTQ+ advocates for an ad she aired in the final month of the campaign, in which she referred to trans women as “biological men” and said she doesn’t “support and haven’t ever performed gender surgery for minors”.

In 2022, Andrews had referred to South Carolina’s Save Women’s Sports Act as “actively harmful”, and wrote on X, “I will always support trans youth.”

The election marks the first time South Carolina has elected a woman to the senate, nearly a century after Hattie Caraway of Arkansas became the first female US senator, in 1932. As of October, 15 US states still have never had a woman as a US senator, including several liberal northeastern states, including Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New Jersey and Vermont.