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Here’s How Darline Graham’s Debate Went
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Here’s How Darline Graham’s Debate Went

Sen. Darline Graham entered Tuesday night’s South Carolina Republican Senate debate with a famous political name, President Donald Trump’s endorsement and a runoff election only a week away.

Then came a straightforward question about Taiwan and the South China Sea.

Newsmax anchor Greta Van Susteren asked Graham, “Are Taiwan and the South China Sea national security issues for the United States?”


Graham initially asked Van Susteren to repeat the question. Her eventual answer acknowledged something candidates for the United States Senate generally do not advertise during a debate.

“I’m gonna be honest here. I’m not a national security that … I’m not that informed on national security so … But I do support the military.”

Graham then discussed her family’s military background, including her late brother Sen. Lindsey Graham’s Air Force service and her father’s service in the Army.

“I’m not a polished politician up here,” she said.

The exchange immediately put attention on a significant vulnerability for Graham: She is already serving in the Senate, and questions involving China, Taiwan and the South China Sea regularly confront members of Congress.


Taiwan maintains extensive economic and unofficial political ties with the United States. Its semiconductor industry is particularly important to global technology supply chains, while China’s claims over Taiwan have made the Taiwan Strait a persistent source of military tension.

The South China Sea presents a separate but related set of security questions involving China, U.S. allies and partners, competing territorial claims and American military operations.

Graham’s runoff opponent, Rep. Ralph Norman, gave a substantially more conventional Republican answer to Van Susteren’s question, emphasizing a “peace through strength” approach.

The contrast carried an additional personal dimension because Graham is serving in the seat previously occupied by her brother.


After Lindsey Graham’s death, Taiwan’s government issued a statement saying President Lai Ching-te had expressed “deep gratitude for Senator Graham’s longstanding contributions to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and to Taiwan-U.S. relations.”

Darline Graham was appointed by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster to complete her brother’s term. She subsequently finished first in the Aug. 11 Republican primary but did not receive enough support to avoid a runoff against Norman, scheduled for Aug. 25.

Political debates have a long history of producing moments that become larger than the questions that prompted them.

During a 2011 Republican presidential debate, then-Texas Gov. Rick Perry famously forgot the third federal department he intended to eliminate. After struggling to remember it, Perry finished with “oops.”


The forgotten agency was the Department of Energy. Perry later became energy secretary during Trump’s first administration and, upon leaving the position, called it “the coolest job in the world.”

Graham’s answer presents a somewhat different problem because she did not describe it as a temporary memory lapse. She openly said she was not well-informed on national security.

After the debate, she reinforced her intended focus when reporters asked about the exchange, according to The Associated Press.

“They’re worried about their pocketbooks more than they’re worried about the South China Sea, quite honestly,” Graham said. “So that’s going to be my biggest focus.”

Written by Arthur Higgens - August 20, 2026