U.S. Senate Special Election Results from Round 0ne

And before we wrap up, I just want to give you one more opportunity to address Republicans in this state who are going to come out and vote in the special primary. Early voting starts next week, two days after this debate, or any of them who have questions, concerns, again, about how this rule has been applied about transparency, issues of trust. What do you want to say to them? Well, first is, again, don't forget to go vote. So tomorrow, as a matter of fact, is the last day for absentee ballot applications. So after that, you got the early voting you talked about on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of next week, and then you have the primary of the following Tuesday. We will be putting out a lot of information, making it easy to encourage your friends, fellow conservatives to get out and vote. We want as good of a showing of Republicans around the state as we can possibly get. Obviously, it's in August. People aren't used to voting in August. Some folks are still finishing up vacations or whatever. But again, it's a big decision. It's very important that we get it right. First time again, we've done this in 22 years. We don't get a chance that often as Republicans here at this stage, you know, and we want to make sure we get it right.

Well, she just called me to thank me for the endorsement. And it's great that she's doing so well. And she's a very good woman. And she's got good genetics because she's related to Lindsay, who's a real professional. So we'll see. I'm going to call her right now. She just called me two minutes ago. It's really an honor of her brother. And she's really a very smart woman. You know, Lindsay loved his sister. More than anything else, he would tell me about his sister that she's just outstanding. He actually said, she is better than him. That was hard for Lindsay to say. So she's out there. She's doing a great job. Everybody, the race is now over. But we do have some interesting stats. And, you know, we had written a column on our Randallis Journal about Russell Fry and just how close he came. His initial... Emerson polling was 9%. He ultimately received about 65,732 votes, which was just shy of 20%, which finished him third, and ahead of former Governor Mark Sanford by 15,731 votes. And he was the only candidate besides Graham and Norman to break that 19% threshold. So it was an impressive night for Russell Fry. Here are some of the numbers that may matter for folks that Darling Graham won by 27,059 votes over Ralph Norman. The Norman Frye separation was 82,523 to 65,732, which was about 16,0791 votes. So, you know, a little bit of a spread came later on. Just to get a sense of the votes. of all the candidates, Darling and Graham Nordone, she got 109,582 votes. That's about 32.7% of the electorate. Ralph Norman, of course, got the 82,523 that we just discussed, and Russell got the 65,732. Mark Sanford was fourth. He had 50,001 votes. Mark Lynch. He got 5.9%. He got 19,857 votes. So he saw a big drop off from where he was at. And that was really largely an anti-Lenzie Graham vote, I guess, in the first runaround. Danny Ford, who spent much of this last two weeks trying to get on the ballot, but he had to sue his way on. And I have to say, I didn't think that was very fair. I try not to be overly critical of the party, but I just really... had a little bit of heartburn with Mr. Ford not being allowed onto the stage. And it cost him. He wasn't able to get into debates or make his place there. But he still got 2,844 votes, about 0.8%. Dale, Duke Buckner, he got 1,580. Sam Shepard, who I did not know at all, got 929 votes.

Glenda Gale Parker got 1,021 votes, and former Myrtle Beach Mayor Mark McBride got 801 votes. And that's kind of a shame. I may say this about Mark McBride. I helped him in 2004 when he ran for the Senate the first time. And his entire campaign was way ahead of its time. And, you know, Donald Trump... could get in trouble for copyright infringement to the extent to which his campaign in 2016, 2020, and 2024 were right off. everything that Mark McBride had been saying in 2004. He didn't do well in this, but at the same token, he got this as a sprint to the finish, and he's running against a very strong field of candidates. And I think Mark deserves McBride deserves some credit for bringing some issues to the forefront that are now national issues. that weren't in 2004. So he was way ahead of his time then. The total number of votes, though, approximately 334,870. And that is how this primary, you know, those are the numbers for this primary. We've got an interesting race now. between Senator Lindsey Graham's sister, Darling, Graham Nordone, and Ralph Norman. I think you're going to see, really, it's two wings of the party colliding. Ralph Norman comes from that group, the Nikki Haley, Jim DeMint group that is not big on government projects and putting money into. You know, the kind of infrastructure projects that your districts a lot of times need. They do that based on this belief about... controlling this national deficit, which is a big problem. So no one's saying that that's not a legitimate position. But that is the choice you're going to be making, whether you're going to have a senator that's going to be reactive to your needs on infrastructure or not. And Darling Graham Nordone, we don't know totally where she would be, but if she is anywhere near her like her brother, her brother was always helping local government. And that was one of his strengths, I think, on top of his positions. Of course, on the world stage where I totally agree with him on helping Israel and defending them against this evil regime in Iran and, of course, helping our ally the Ukraine in this war of aggression that Russia has waged on them. You know, people have tried to paint Lindsey Graham. You'll hear that as a warmonger. The truth was he was a peacemaker. And as the good book says, blessed are the peacemakers.

Lindsey Graham was one of those, and he doesn't get the credit he deserves for that. But that's a whole other subject. Darling Nordone has said she will be in the debate, so we're going to get to hear from her. But it should be an interesting couple of weeks. The general election primary, I guess you'd call it, to decide who's going to replace Lindsey Graham on the Republican ballot in November will be August the 25th. of 2026. And we're going to be here on grassroots to cover it all. So we hope you'll join us. Now, I thought we would take a listen to some of the candidates as they talk about... about the campaign, starting with Governor Mark Sanford, who really ran a good race, really. He got out there and campaigned hard. And in this, he's going to talk about his new nonprofit that I think is probably why he was running to get himself back out there so that you would hear about this and he'd get a chance to talk about it. So we're going to let him talk about it. Here's Mark Sanford's concession speech on Tuesday. Mark Sanford, speaking now as supporters. Mount Pleasant, let's go and listen to Sanford now addressing supporters. that helped out in this campaign of ideas. And I look at my sister Sarah and her husband, Bill. And I look at Jay over there. He didn't actually do that much work, but I look at John back here, John over there. I look at Scotty. And I would really, really, really single out Jane. I see Jane over there. Jane really stepped to the plate in a remarkable way in offering a month of her life to help on ideas that she believed matter. I'd say the same with Sarah over there. who helped out over the years. I don't want to Todd gave me all kinds of rides. We lifted, Hopton, his vehicle, and rode around big pieces of the state. I could go on with a hundred other people who helped out remarkably because they believe, as I do, that our country is indeed at the tipping point. And that we cannot continue to stack up debt as we have. We will add, you know, a trillion dollars debt of the next 100 days. and it's going to have a profound ramification in every one of our lives. It's the unaddressed elephant in the room, if you will, in Washington, D.C. And so this campaign was built around that notion of what a farmer told me in the countryside of South Carolina, let me get this right. We have a government that's spending money it doesn't have, and then going off and printing money that's not there. What's that due to the value of every dollar that you and I have? It diminishes it. And so indeed you got a farmer and saluted right now who's worried about how I'm going to pay for, you know, fertilizer and seeds. You got a small business person in Pickens County worried about am I going to be able to afford the cost of goods? You got a carpenter in Merle Beach. I could go down the list, but a lot of people are struggling with this basic notion of affordability, and it's tied directly to the way in which Washington is spending money these days. It was our contention in this campaign.

that that needs to be stopped if you're ultimately going to impact affordability in this country and if you're ultimately going to impact frankly our ability to sustain and reach the american dream for too many people in america right now that is slipping out of out of bounds i mean the average age of home from ownership or purchase today is 59 years of age 15 years ago, it was 39 years of age. Literally, in 15 years, it slipped back 20. This thing is real. And so, again, though our campaign didn't make it, what I had briefly started to do prior to getting in was to start a 501C3 focused on the debt, the deficit, government spending, and its implications in young and old alike. It's remarkable to me. that we will spend as much on interest payments this year as we will on national defense. It's remarkable to me that... The interest is the fastest going category of our federal spending. It's remarkable to me that the Social Security Trust Fund is destined to go bankrupt in five and a half years, Medicare and six and a half years. We are on an unsustainable course, and no civilization across the pages of time has been able to outrun math. And so, though I will not be able to tackle it as a U.S. Senator, I will work... for everything that I'm worth to this nonprofit that we're going to start, trying to focus on bringing focus and attention to what I think is a threat to every one of our lives, to a threat to affordability, to a threat to the American way of life, and ultimately American civilization. And so one chapter closes, another one opens. And I look forward to that new chapter. And again, I'm most of all thankful for the people gathered here today. but frankly, literally thousands across South Carolina who helped us in this sort of uphill battle in an incredibly short race of two plus weeks. I see you, Terry, right there. You, like so many others, have helped out, and I do appreciate all your efforts. And I'd call it quick with that. Thank you all very much. Appreciate it. Now we're going to head over to Rock Hill. Let's hear from Congressman Ralph Norman, who did finish second with a strong showing from the upstate on Tuesday. Continuing our special primary election coverage now as voters decide the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate. NBC News is projecting Congressman Ralph Norman is advancing to a runoff on August 25th, along with Senator Darlene Graham. Representative Norman is speaking to his supporters in Rock Hill right now. There he is right there taking the stage. We want to go ahead and listen in. Well...

Looks like we did it folks. Let's like we did. First of all, let me thank each one of you for taking the time to come out. I want to thank the ones that were in this race that had the courage to put their name on the line. Russell, the two marks, Mark Sanford, Mark Lynch, and the others. I want to congratulate Darlene. This is a time to come together, folks. We've got to all coalesce come together because we have got some socialist Democrats we have got to beat. It's not the party of the 60s and 70s and even 80s. This is a party that is intent on taking over this country. This is a party that's intent on taking over having government take over everything. And folks, it's time for all of us to come together. I look forward to the next two weeks. I love campaigning. We're going to hit every part of the state and take our message. And, you know, this is all about faith, family, and freedom. Yes. When Elaine and I started this journey, first with the governor. with this how unexpected this was to have lindsay ground not here he just he's a fixture you thought he would be here uh and that being said it was uh when you looked at the landscape it was a short time frame to put together a campaign but everybody came together for us People really rallied the work that was put in. And I just want to thank all my staff, both from Congress and that are here, and what they did, because it means a lot. You don't do this by yourself. So I'm excited for South Carolina. I'm excited for freedom. I'm excited to take another two weeks and just tell our message and go all over the state. It's so humbling to be here. And all of you play such a big part. So thank you. Thank you for all your effort, your time, your time, your talent. And let's win this thing in a big way.

out to all the other candidates and asking for their support and I ask you all for your prayers and I ask you for another go-round that will be a fun time in the political arena here in South Carolina so I will be glad to take any questions of the media if they have any many debates. I know we're scheduled to debate for Monday. I look forward to getting in all the issues. I look forward to hearing what her plan is, hear what our platform is, and doing the debates as we have been for the last, what, five weeks, three weeks. So I look forward to that. Congressman Norman, the race is coming up quickly and we've got two weeks. Yeah. What do you want to say to voters tonight who maybe they supported someone else they didn't support you? What's your message to them tonight? Here's my message. You know, I may not have been the first choice. I may not have been the second choice. I want to be the third and the fourth choice of everybody. I want everybody to unite and come with us because we've got the right message. I've got a great resume that I'm proud of. I really feel like that South Carolina and the country is at a tipping point. So I will tell people to let's get involved with this race. Let's help us take it to the next level. And we can do that.

Well, I asked for the president's endorsement. Didn't get it. But anybody would want the endorsement, but he chose who he did. And that's fine. South Carolina is going to decide the next senator. The governor's race prepared me one to meet the people in South Carolina. I was known in the Fifth District, but I wasn't known in Charleston, in Hilton Head, Beaufort, parts of Greenville. What I enjoyed was going around the state. We met great people, and we met people who bought into our campaign. So that helped me a lot. because this was such a short runway. But people, my name recognition was 80% percent. And as I went around, I got more encouraged because the crowds got bigger. The electricity was there. And it was just a great experience. It really was. Congressman, how do you plan to draw contrast with your now opponent, Senator Darling Graham, and show voters how the two of you are different and why you're the better choice? Well, I don't know where she stands on a lot of issues. I think that's where we'll find out. You know, where she stand on pro-life, where she stand on the death penalty, where will she stand on spending. So we'll get into the debate, which I welcome the debate. My record is an open book. You know what I've done. And I will continue that because I think that we're at a critical point because what really attracted me to this race, the Senate is malfunctioning and is where good bills go to die. And I will play a role in passing particularly the SAVE Act, which is verification that you are an American citizen before you vote. I will be laser focused on that. And I will be laser focused on calling the Senate out. That shouldn't happen. And so that's just one of the many things. The overall conservative platform of peace through strength, the American First agenda, I'm all into. President Trump has laid out a great framework that I will be a part of and will promote. And my record backs that up. I'd love to have another reconciliation package. I'd love to have another big, beautiful bill. where we reform the tax code, where we work to cut regulations, where we empower the taxpayer. That's what that's about. And we'll debate those issues, and I'm sure there'll be some differences. But I welcome that. And I really trust people of South Carolina to make the right call.

a debate is that in discussion absolutely i've committed to a to a debate monday the sooner the better and let's have them it's fair for the people we're getting ready to elect a person that's going to serve six years six years and every the people in south carolina need to know everything about where i stand and where she stands and we will lay out those differences which is a good thing Have you talked to any other candidates tonight? I just walked down. I'm getting ready to call every one of them. Mark Saffin, Mark Lange. Russell Fry. That'll be the first call I made. And I will be calling President Trump, not tonight, but I will call him tomorrow. Thank you. Thank y'all. Appreciate you coming up. You have been watching Representative Ralph Norman speak with his supporters in Rock Hill. Again, he will face Senator Darlene Graham in a runoff for U.S. Senate in South Carolina two weeks from today. And we do expect to hear from Darlene Graham shortly. We'll bring you her words as well. But until then, you can find full election results on WIF4.com. But for now, we return you to regular programming. I would have to say WYFF has done a very good job of covering this election. We're getting a lot of stuff, you know, I live on the way on the other side of the state. So a lot of the material that you get from the upstate I've gotten from WYFF. And so just a shout out to them and thanking them for their coverage. And this brings us to Darlene Graham, the big winner of the night. And... You know, I don't make a lot of bones about having been a huge supporter and fan of Lindsey Graham. I thought he was an outstanding great senator. And she is out there working hard trying to uphold his place and finish the work that he did. And, you know, we don't know much about her. I think that's going to change now in the next two weeks. So we're going to get really sear. But I have to say she's been very formidable so far on the trail, which showed coming in first place. in this runoff. Here's Darling Graham, the current senator from South Carolina. down right now, smiling, though, so that gives me peace, but it is difficult. Secondly, I want to say thank you. Thank you to God for carrying my family and me through some of the most challenging times we've ever had the past few weeks. It's been extremely difficult. Thank you to my husband, Larry, my two daughters, Emily and Nicole, and Kyle, my son-in-law, and my beautiful grandson. Copeland had to leave because it was getting a little late for him, but they were here earlier. Thank you to my staff, my official Senate staff, and my campaign team for standing by me and supporting me. I could not have gotten through the past few weeks without you.

I want to thank President Trump. His steadfast support and his complete and total endorsement means so much to me. He knows that I will stand with him and fight for his agenda just like Lindsay did. I also want to thank my opponents, especially Russell Fry and Mark Sanford. They ran a good race. Most importantly, I want to thank the Republican voters of South Carolina for having confidence in me. I look forward to the next two weeks, meeting with you, listening to your concern, and telling you more about me and my conservative values. I decided to answer the call to serve because South Carolina and President Trump need a leader who's tough, principled, and will fight to advance our conservative values in Washington. Lindsay and I grew up in one room in the back of a bar and liquor store where our parents worked long, hard hours to earn a living. That's where we learned a strong work ethic and the value of a dollar. From a young age, our parents taught us that you're not given anything in life, and no one owes you anything. If you want something, you work for it. That's how I've tried to live my life. I've spent my career serving the people of South Carolina. For the past seven years, I led an agency dedicated to helping South Carolinians who are blind or visually impaired, find employment, become more independent, and have the opportunity to provide for themselves and their families. I took a struggling agency and turned it into a national model. I never expected that career of service would lead me to the United States Senate. I certainly never expected it would happen under these circumstances. I've only been on the job in Washington for three weeks, and I've already passed a major piece of bipartisan legislation through the Senate that meant so much to Lansing, the Russia sanctions bill. which I believe will end the bloodshed in Ukraine and keep Americans safer. I was also the deciding vote to confirm President Trump's Attorney General nominee Todd Blanche. Some politicians never get a major piece of their legislation passed, so I've already accomplished more in a few weeks than many do in decades. So I'm very proud of that. So when President Trump and others asked me to run for a full term in the Senate, I prayed hard about it. I knew I could not sit on the sidelines. That's not how Lindsay and I were raised. That's not who I am. I'm a fighter. Here's what South Carolinians should know about me.

I'm a conservative Republican. I'm not a career politician. I know how families are struggling to make ends meet because I've been there too. I had two daughters with health problems. I know what it feels like to have outrageous medical bills. I know there's not one business in the country that would let you put everything on credit like we do today with the federal budget. You have to show an ID to check out a library book, so why would you have to show an ID to vote? That's why the first bill I co-sponsored was the Save America Act. Joe Biden let 12 million illegal immigrants into this country. President Trump and I are going to walk them right back out. I believe that if you want to come to the United States, you do it legally. And if you want to stay here, you respect our American values. I support the right to life. I believe that every human life is sacred and deserves protection. I strongly support the Second Amendment. I believe gun control is how steady you hold your weapon. I'm a volleyball mom. I love watching my daughter play, and I know that boys have no place in girls' sports, especially not in the locker room. I've been accused of not being a politician. Guilty is charged. I will spend the next two weeks of this runoff meeting with voters and unlike some politicians listening to their concerns. Yes, listening to their concerns. This seat belongs to the people of South Carolina and I will work hard to earn. earn your vote. This runoff will be a sprint and a team effort, and I certainly can't do this alone, so I'm asking you to go to darlenegram.com to join my campaign, volunteer, and contribute five, ten dollars. Again, that's darlenegram.com. If you didn't vote for me today, I will work to earn your vote and the runoff. Thank you for voting. Thank you so very much for your prayers. May God continue to bless this great state of South Carolina.

Thank you. President Trump in your speech and I am curious to any offer to come down here to campaign. And also, how do you plan to make the distinction between you and Ralph Norman between now two weeks from now? Well, I'm hopeful that President Trump will come down, but we'll see. And there's a big distinction between myself and Ralph Norman. I'm a conservative. I have conservative values. I'm willing to work hard for the people. I'm willing to earn their votes. And, yeah, we'll see other differences as the weeks go on. Senator, just earlier tonight, Congressman Ralph Norman said he's agreed to a debate on Monday. Are you participating in that debate? Have you agreed to that? Well, that's the first I've heard of it. So we'll see. Would you be willing to debate him? I'll be willing to debate him, yes. Senator, will you reach out to any of your other opponents asking that for your endorsements? Yes, I plan to do that. Have you spoken to you tonight? I've spoken to a couple of them. more to come. Senator, what can we expect to see over the next two weeks in terms of campaigning? You said you want to continue to get your message out. What does that look like on the ground here? Probably pretty much every day. I'm going to be hitting the road. I want to sit down with the voters. I want to know what's important to them. So I want to meet one-on-one with as many people as I possibly can. So I plan to cover this entire state. This is your first campaign, the first time that you are the one out front doing that. What's your level of comfort? Your brother had decades to get that level of comfort. But how do you feel doing that? Well, it's been absolutely brutal. You know, this past month has been brutal. Today is the 11th. My brother passed one month ago today. So none of this has been comfortable for me. But like I said, I'm a fire. I have buried my precious brother. I have taken on the role of the United States Senator. And I have had this brutal campaign schedule. And I'm still standing. If that doesn't tell you, I'm a strong person and a... fire, nothing will. So I think I can handle the next two weeks. Sarah, this is a massive moment for your campaign, but also, as you said, it's an emotional day for you and your whole family, you know, with the loss of Lindsay. So with everything that's happened here, you know, becoming, you know, the appointment center now deciding that you want to run for this, getting your feet wet in Washington, have you had time to sit at this process that loss to omit all of this? And what does that look like?

for you and your family. That's really been a family situation. It has been a family situation. It's been hard on my whole family. And unfortunately, I have not had a whole lot of time to process it. I've had my moments. They typically come early in the morning before my day gets started and late at night when I go to bed. Do you think about what you would say again in this moment if you have that opportunity to just you and having no cameras? I think a lot about what I would say too. right now I think he would be very proud. Senator, what is the experience like watching votes come in for yourself compared to what it was like watching the votes come in for your brother? You know, that's a really good question. I think I was probably always more nervous for Lindsay than myself. I'm not saying I wasn't nervous, but I think I was always a little more nervous for him. Thanks, guys. Thank you, Senator Darlene Graham will face Congressman Ralph Norman in a Republican runoff for late Senator Lindsey Graham's seat. Of course, this is his sister who's running. And CBS News Political Director Finn Gomez is going to join us. All right, Finn, let's start with South Carolina. Darlene Graham has President Trump's endorsement, but it wasn't enough to outright win the nomination in this race. Where does that tell her about her influence? I mean, she's got the name recognition, but what do you, what are the polls telling you about what could potentially happen in the runoff? And what are her qualifications as well? Well, that, I mean. Great questions, but have you? None, right? Well, if you from me, I mean, she, look, can I just say one thing before we get to the politics? I just want to say one thing. Yeah. I should be sent to my Yorga. I know. I know. I got married to my Yorga, by the way. What? I know my Yorga. Why did you throw your hat in the ring? Let's go. I'm running. He didn't even know there was a ring. He didn't even know there was a ring. He was like super. He was too busy covering politics. On the download about it. I know. He just popped up in New York. But on South Carolina, look, I think there's a great question. I think it tells us in a lot of ways that the Trump endorsement, which is a big factor here, I think it remains powerful in the Republican primary. We've seen that play out in this election cycle, but it's not necessarily the only thing here. Look, if you look at this specific race, she's a political neophyte, as you guys said. And she also was facing a very crowded field. There were 10 people in this race, and she's someone who's never. run to statewide. campaign before, right? She's not from politics. She had the Trump endorsement, and she has the Graham name, of course, big name ID in South Carolina. Her brother, of course, passed away unexpectedly a month ago, excuse me. She didn't get that 50% threshold. But now she has, she's facing Ralph Norman. They're going to face each other one-on-one in two weeks and in August 25th runoff. And I think it becomes a very different race then. Norman is going to essentially consolidate the anti-Gram.

conservative lane, if you will, while Graham has the ability to consolidate the rest of the field. Because you don't have Russell Fry. You don't have Mark Sanford. Some people who, these are folks who do that I think she can appeal to their supporters. And I think it's going to be a pretty tight and competitive race. I tend to agree with him. I do think it's going to be a tight and competitive race. I'll tell you something that people are not. I don't think realizing just yet, and that is that Ory County in the 7th District was Lindsey Graham Country. And Darlene Graham managed to get the high percentages that she got and finished first. Having had that whole region kind of kicked out from underneath her because of the popularity of our extremely talented and young congressman who was in this race. And with Russell Fry out, I, you know, I hear some people saying, well, you know, that Ralph Norman's going to walk away with this because all these Fry voters and all these McBride voters and all this, you know, that we're in South, in that Myrtle Beach area, are going to come over now to Ralph Norman, you know exactly what you're going to get, yada, yada, yada. But the truth is, If not for Lindsey Graham, beach for nourishment would not be happening. The nursing program at Ori Georgetown Tech would not be happening. Money, Senate, Coastal Carolina would not have happened. Ocean stormwater, ocean outfalls, we've got up and down North Myrtle Beach and Myrtle Beach would not have happened. Lindsey Graham, dredging the Charleston port, which is just down the road will piece, would not have happened. The list of accomplishments of Lindsey Graham's is enormous. And you've got to remember something. You're not only voting for Darling Graham, who is a newbie in politics, you're wanting to keep that staff intact that Lindsey Graham built. And... That staff has been cracker jacked about helping the 7th District. So I don't believe that all these fry voters are going to go to Ralph Norman. I'm not. And, you know, I'll put my little editorial comment there. I think Darling Graham is going to benefit from people who have faith in the staff that's helping her and allowing her a new person in politics to get her sea legs. and step up and do this job. And let me tell you something. History is full of people. Average everyday Americans who find themselves in unusual positions in politics and do outstanding jobs. And so let's don't just discount what Darling Graham can do because I think she's going to prove to be a very formidable. campaigner and senator, and when she is a senator in her own right, hey, look out. Apple don't far, far from the tree. You know, she and Lindsey Graham were made out of the same stock. So hopefully we're going to get a senator who was able to step into those shoes. It's going to be nearly impossible because Lindsey Graham was arguably, you know.

probably the most outstanding senator so far in the 21st century in the whole country. So that's kind of hard act to follow. But I think Darlene Graham, you know, we'll see what she can do. And, you know, as far as Ralph Norman goes, I don't know as much about him. He's on the other side of the state from where I live. But he's a very conservative guy. You know exactly what you're going to get. He is not big on these projects that I think are important to our area. But he's been a good congressman. So, you know, I can't stand here and debate anything other than that particular issue about whether he would be a good senator or not. We'll see. That's what the public is going to be deciding come. August the 25th. And before we close, I do want to speak out about our congressman, Russell Fry. What an extraordinary job he did. This was not a loss for him. And we wrote a column in our Randolph's journal, which is our publication and substack. And I'm going to let, I'm going to let it play for you. But I don't think this was a loss at all. I think Russell Fry, his introduction. to the public, he might not have won, but it was a grand slam home run. And folks, I expect big things are coming in the future for Congressman Russell Fry. So don't think this was a defeat at all. Politically speaking with Randall Wallace, Russell Fry, a lost election, but not a loss. It came down to the wire. All night, the second place spot for the Republican U.S. Senate runoff went back and forth between Congressman Ralph Norman and Congressman Russell Fry, until Ralph Norman's solid vote from his upstate constituents finally came through and he was able to secure his second place finish and a spot in the runoff election to be held on the 25th of August. Russell Fry had lost, but what an amazing ride this past three weeks have been. When the race was originally polled, Frye was at 9%. He was way back in the pack behind not only Darling Graham and Ralph Norman, whom he faced on the campaign trail, but also Nancy Mace, who decided not to run, Mark Lynch, who had just challenged the late Senator Lindsey Graham, and he was just barely ahead of Governor Mark Sanford, the former governor. On election night, he had caught the field and was within a few percentage points of being in the runoff. He did that despite the obvious strength of the entire field of candidates and without the endorsement of President Trump, who had decided to endorse Darling Graham instead. That is an exceptional performance and suggests that there is a substantial appetite among Republican voters for a new generation of leadership in South Carolina. It might not have been enough to win this time. But oh, how close he came. He made the case that we need a new generation of leadership, and everywhere he went he built on the foundation he already had.

In large portions of South Carolina, they had not been very familiar with Congressman Fry. But by the time this race was over, they obviously liked what they saw. They flocked to him, and his support grew throughout the race, climbing from 9% to nearly 20%. And that's an impressive first try for statewide office in a field this size, with names as big as he faced. So while Russell Fry lost on primary night, he won this first introduction to the people of South Carolina. And he may not be the next United States Senator from South Carolina, but he does walk away from the race as one of the first of his generation to stand on the statewide stage. And my guess is this will not be the last time we see him there. All right, folks, the runoff, the final run between Darlene Graham, the current senator and Congressman Ralph Norman, is August the 25th. And we're going to be here from Grand Strand Politics to cover it all for you. So please join us then. Until next time, so long for now.