South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster appointed the sister of Sen. Lindsey Graham to temporarily fill his Senate seat after his sudden death Saturday night.
Darline Graham Nordone will be sworn into the U.S. Senate on Wednesday. She will serve in the Republican majority for the remaining five months of Mr. Graham’s fourth Senate term.
“Lindsey has always been there for me, and now I will be there for him,” Ms. Nordone said during a press conference at the South Carolina Statehouse in Columbia. “It is such a privilege to get to finish some of his important work, and I promise to work hard over the next several months to support the president and carry forward the efforts of my brother on behalf of the citizens of South Carolina and the United States.”
She said she missed Mr. Graham “more than I can even put into words … but I’m going to do this. I’ve got it.”
Ms. Nordone’s selection was considered a remote possibility, but by midafternoon, it had become more of a certainty after President Trump made the recommendation on his Truth Social account Monday morning. The idea quickly won the approval of South Carolina’s other Republican U.S. senator, Tim Scott, as well as Senate Majority Leader John Thune, South Dakota Republican.
“Lindsey Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, would be a fantastic pick to serve out the remainder of the Senate term,” Mr. Scott said. “After speaking with Darline, there is no one better who understands Lindsey’s love for family, our state, and our country.”
Mr. Trump called Ms. Nordone “wonderful” and said her appointment to the seat “would be a wonderful tribute to Lindsey, who loved her dearly!”
Mr. Graham, 71, died after emergency workers were dispatched to his Capitol Hill home. The D.C. Medical Examiner’s Office issued a preliminary finding of “aortic dissection due to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.”
His death has triggered a scramble to replace him on the November ballot.
Mr. Graham had just won the Republican Senate primary and was expected to easily win a fifth term in the deep-red state.
It is not clear whether Ms. Nordone, 62, will remain a temporary placeholder or run in a special Republican primary slated for August. She has never held public office. The married mother of two, who is also a grandmother, has largely lived out of the public eye. She spent her career helping people with disabilities and currently serves as the commissioner of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind.
The winner will face off against Democratic nominee Annie Andrews.
Republican hopefuls were already lining up Sunday. They included Rep. Russell Fry, who media reports say is backed by Mr. Trump. Reps. Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman also signaled interest, along with former Gov. Mark Sanford, who also served in the U.S. House.
South Carolina is expected to hold the special primary on Aug. 11 and, if necessary, a runoff on Aug. 25. Under a timeline set by state law, candidate filing will open July 21 and end on July 28.
Because Mr. Graham died outside a 100-day special election window, the winner in November will serve a full, six-year term.
Ms. Nordone, about nine years younger than Mr. Graham, was raised by her brother after both parents died. Mr. Graham, who never married, became her legal guardian when she was 13. She is his only survivor.
She appeared in at least two campaign ads on behalf of her brother. In 2014, when Mr. Graham was running for a third term in the Senate, she talked in one ad about his dedication to raising her after both their parents died in a span of 15 months. He became her legal guardian while attending college and law school.
“He never let me down. Never. I don’t see how he did it, to take on the responsibility of raising a little sister,” Ms. Nordone said. “That came from within for Lindsey.”
In a 2015 C-SPAN interview after launching his short-lived presidential campaign, Mr. Graham spoke fondly of his sister and the idea of her serving in public office.
“If she took a role on, she would be a great representative of our country. I can’t think of a better person to represent our country in any event than my sister.”
Ms. Nordone will be the first woman from South Carolina to serve in the U.S. Senate, but not the first to be appointed to fill a family member’s seat.
The Senate has a long history of appointing widows to serve in seats vacated by the deaths of their husbands.
The most recent was Jean Carnahan, who in 2001 was appointed to the Senate by Missouri Gov. Roger Wilson to serve in the seat won posthumously by her husband, Mel Carnahan, who died in a plane crash.
Mr. McMaster paid tribute to Mr. Graham in a brief speech before announcing his appointment of Ms. Nordone.
“We meet in sadness over the loss of one of South Carolina’s greatest sons, and we also gather together to celebrate what this self-described poor boy from a small town, rural town in South Carolina accomplished through grit, determination, and character for his state, for his country, and for his world,” Mr. McMaster said. “Lindsey Graham recognized the greatness of America and her obligations to a dangerous world.”
The U.S. Senate returned to business Monday with a familiar but sad marker in the chamber: a black velvet cloth draped across Mr. Graham’s desk. A bowl of white roses sat on top. It is a long-standing tradition honoring a senator who dies while in office.
Mr. Thune delivered a tribute to Mr. Graham, choking up at the end.
“It’s difficult to count the ways in which Lindsey’s friendship made this job richer and its burdens lighter. Lindsey was as loyal as they come and a trusted adviser,” Mr. Thune said.
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