Gov. Henry McMaster will name an interim United States senator to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Sen. Lindsey Graham, and York and Lancaster County voters will head back to the polls next month to help pick the Republican who runs for the job in November.
Graham died Saturday night at 71 after what his office described as a brief and sudden illness. He had served in the Senate since 2003, chaired the Senate Budget Committee and had won the June 9 Republican primary for a fifth term with roughly 57 percent of the vote. His death sets in motion two separate processes under state law, one to fill the seat now and one to fill the empty line on the fall ballot.
The appointment
Under South Carolina Code Section 7.19.20, the governor may fill a vacancy in a United States Senate seat by appointment. The appointee serves only until Jan. 3 following the next general election, which means whoever McMaster picks holds the office for less than six months and has no claim on the seat beyond that.
McMaster, who is term limited and leaving office in January, had co chaired Graham’s reelection campaign. As of Sunday afternoon he had not said who he intends to appoint or when. Republicans hold the Senate 53 seats to 47, and the vacancy leaves the chamber one vote short of that margin until the appointment is made.
The appointment carries obvious value for anyone who wants the seat long term. An appointee would arrive in Washington with the title, the staff and several weeks of news coverage before ballots are cast in the special primary.
The special primary
Graham’s name was already certified as the Republican nominee for November. Section 7.11.55 of the state code covers what happens when a nominee chosen in a primary dies, and it calls for a special primary rather than a decision by party officials.
The filing window opens July 21, the second Tuesday after the vacancy, and closes one week later on July 28. The special primary follows on Aug. 11, with a runoff on Aug. 25 if no candidate clears 50 percent. State election officials said the special primary is open to any registered voter regardless of whether they voted in the June 9 primary or which ballot they took.
The winner faces Democratic nominee Annie Andrews, a Charleston pediatrician who won her primary in June. Andrews issued a statement Sunday morning offering condolences to Graham’s family, his staff and those grieving the loss.
State law requires the replacement nominee to be certified no later than two weeks before the general election, a deadline that falls around Oct. 20. Under Section 7.13.370, votes cast for a deceased candidate whose name remains on an already printed ballot are counted for the certified replacement.
Sign up here to receive the Tega Cay Sun "day" Spectator every Sunday morning with all the news from the week directly to your inbox
Thomas Hyslip lives in Tega Cay with his wife and daughter. After 27 years in the U.S. Army and Federal Law Enforcement, he retired to pursue his passion for teaching. Tom is now an Assistant Professor of Instruction at the University of South Florida. In 2 short years he has won 10 awards from the South Carolina Press Association, including first place in column writing, education beat reporting and best podcast.
