Democrat Annie Andrews wins South Carolina Senate race in major upset

Dr. Annie Andrews answers questions from members of the media after greeting poll workers on Election Day at the Royal Missionary Baptist Church on Tuesday. Win McNamee/Getty Images hide caption

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Democrat Annie Andrews has defeated GOP Sen. Darline Graham in South Carolina's Senate race, according to a race call by the Associated Press.

Andrews, a pediatrician, becomes the first woman to win a Senate election in South Carolina, and the first Democratic Senator elected in the state since 1998. It's a stunning upset in a state that President Trump won by nearly 18 points in 2024, and a critical pickup for Democrats hoping to regain control of the Senate.

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Graham was appointed to the seat after the death of her brother, longtime Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, in July. She was a key vote for Trump in recent months, fighting Democratic efforts to reign in Trump's war powers and confirming Todd Blanche as Attorney General.

However, she faced a tough political landscape for Republicans, as Trump's approval ratings hit record lows in the weeks before the midterms, driven largely by opposition to the war in Iran, the president's tariff policies and high energy prices.

Andrews made affordability issues central to her campaign, arguing that she would fight to end tax breaks for the wealthy, raise wages and push for affordable child care. She also drew on her career as a pediatrician, and said her experience treating patients who faced financial barriers to health care was a major factor that pushed her into politics.

"I would diagnose kids with common chronic diseases like asthma and diabetes, and I found that while I would explain my treatment plan to the parents so often, they would say, 'Well, how much is that inhaler going to cost?' Or 'How much is that insulin going to cost?'" Andrews told NPR in an interview last month. "No parent in America should have to be thinking about their pocketbook when they're hearing news that their child has a chronic illness."

The South Carolina race is key to Democrats' hopes to flip Senate control. Democrats need to net four seats to win the majority. A favorable political landscape boosted Democrats in battleground states like North Carolina — where Democratic former Gov. Roy Cooper won another key Senate race — and expanded the competitive map to include seats in redder states like South Carolina, Kansas and Texas.