Darline Graham Barely Fending Off Democrat Opponent In Red State, GOP-Leaning Pollster Finds

Republican South Carolina Sen. Darline Graham barely led her Democratic opponent in a poll released by a conservative-leaning pollster Monday.

Graham led Democratic South Carolina Senate nominee Annie Andrews 43.4% to 42.3%, according to a poll by The Trafalgar Group, a conservative-leaning pollster based out of Atlanta, Georgia. Fifty-nine percent of respondents were registered Republicans, while 29% were Democrats.

The poll surveyed 1,087 likely general election voters between Wednesday and Friday with a 2.9% margin of error.

An InsiderAdvantage poll from Sept. 10 found Graham leading by two points, 45.1% to 43.2%, while an Impact Research survey from mid-August found them tied at 41%. Graham led by 2.6 points as of Monday, according to RealClearPolling.

The senator received most of her support from voters 50 years and older, garnering 50.9% support from voters ages 50 to 64 and 50.5% from voters 65 years and older, according to the poll. Andrews garnered more support from younger voters, receiving 59.7% of support from voters ages 18 to 29 and 52.4% from voters ages 30 to 39.

Graham defeated Republican South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman in the Aug. 25 primary runoff after receiving President Donald Trump’s endorsement. Republican South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster appointed her to replace her late brother, former Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, who passed away on July 11.

Graham stumbled through a question about whether Taiwan and the South China Sea were national security issues for the U.S. during an Aug. 19 primary debate.

“Senator, are Taiwan and the South China Sea national security issues for the United States? If so, why?” Newsmax host Greta Van Susteren asked.

“I’m just going to be honest here. I’m not that informed on national security,” Graham said. “So … But I do support the military.”