South Carolina Republican Sen. Darline Graham and Democratic challenger Annie Andrews clashed Sunday night in the first and perhaps only debate of the election, squabbling over President Donald Trump’s “a big, beautiful bill,” the high cost of natural gas and commodities, the Iran war and artificial intelligence data centers.
South Carolina is a ruby-red state where Trump remains popular among Republican voters. But in the final stretch of the campaign, the race has tightened, with Democrats believing they have a chance to defeat Graham, who was appointed to fill her brother Lindsey Graham’s Senate seat following his sudden death in July. The Senate Republican super PAC pledged to spend $5 million to support Graham’s campaign.
At the start of the debate, hosted by ETV South Carolina in Columbia, Darrin Graham noted that Sunday night would be exactly three months since her brother’s unexpected death at the age of 71.
Andrews, a pediatrician, sought to paint Graham, who once led state agencies, as an inexperienced, hollow suit-and-tie who refused to stand up to Trump or his unpopular policies. She mocked Graham as “the White House ambassador to South Carolina.”
Graham attacked Andrews as the “most radical liberal” in the South Carolina race and as someone who sympathized with the Democratic Socialists. “Anne Andrews would not rebel against the Social Democrats; she would simply join them,” Graham said, an assertion Andrews rejected.
Graham “was told to come here and call me Bernie, Ocasio, Mamdani — that’s what was in her script. But the fact is my name is Anne Andrews and there shouldn’t be any confusion about that,” Andrews said. “The fact is, I support the Second Amendment, I believe we need a secure border, and we need to deport illegal immigrants who are breaking the law…The real difference between me and Senator Graham is that I will stand up to my own party, and I will always put South Carolina first.”
Graham and Andrews are running for full six-year Senate terms; the winner will make history as South Carolina’s first elected female senator. The debate also featured libertarian Kasie Whitener.
Graham and Andrews bickered over issue after issue. As the country faces Social Security bankruptcy, Andrews said she would raise the cap so wealthy people pay more, but would not raise the retirement age. She added that Republicans like Graham want to privatize Social Security so that “Washington insiders” can profit. “Unfortunately, my opponent is doing what insiders in Washington are telling her,” she said.
Graham countered that she understands the issues faced by people in her state. When her parents died at a young age, Social Security benefits helped her and her brother survive. Graham said Andrews was wrong to criticize Trump for “a big, beautiful bill” that lowers tips and Social Security taxes. “You’re deceiving the people of South Carolina by calling it a big, ugly bill,” Graham said.
Regarding affordability, Graham said she previously “lived paycheck to paycheck,” and acknowledged that “gas prices are high right now… and I feel the pain, too.” She said she supports a moratorium on gas taxes and that loosening drilling regulations would permanently lower prices.
Andrews blamed high oil prices on Graham, who she said repeatedly voted against the war powers resolution limiting Trump’s war with Iran.
“The war is the exact reason why we have record high petrol and diesel prices right now. Farmers are being crushed and everything costs more,” Andrews said. “My opponent was the only one who had the opportunity to vote to end the war, but she voted three times in a row to continue it.”
Andrews also criticized Graham for admitting in a previous debate that “national security is not my thing.” “South Carolina, if your surgeon said appendectomies were not his specialty, would you hand him a scalpel? No,” Andrews said. “So why are we giving Darlene Graham a full term in the United States Senate? She’s not serious and she’s not qualified.”
Graham countered that she, like everyone, wanted the war to end, but she believed in “peace through strength.” She then went after Andrews over a national security joke.
“But it’s not my thing to talk about, let’s talk about something that’s not yours. Your thing is obviously not being honest with the people of South Carolina. At least I’m being honest. If I don’t know something, I’m happy to say it and I’ll say it again tonight,” Graham said without being specific. “But you have, you’re deceiving the people of South Carolina. You’re erratic in everything. There are plenty of social media posts to prove it. Shame on you!”
The proliferation of data centers that power artificial intelligence companies has become a major flashpoint in the midterm elections.
Andrews went after Graham on the issue, giving her the nickname “Data Center Darling.” Andrews said her data center plans call for “a two-year moratorium, safeguards to ensure rates don’t increase, and a return to true local control.”
Graham countered that halting the construction of all data centers would allow China to win the race for artificial intelligence dominance. She said she voted for the Taxpayer Protection Act, which seeks to shift the higher energy costs of building data centers from consumers to artificial intelligence companies.
“Under Bernie Sanders’ plan, a two-year pause, that’s dangerous to our country’s national security because in two years China will be so far ahead [that] We’re going to be in a lot of trouble,” Graham said, adding that local communities should decide whether to build data centers in their backyards.
“I want the community to make the decision. She wants the federal government to make the decision.”