ROCK HILL, S.C. — Five people have officially filed to run for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s seat, but Rep. Ralph Norman says he has the momentum and funding for the race.
The York County congressman told Channel 9 South Carolina Reporter Tina Terry that even though he didn’t win his bid for governor this year, he says he’s the best candidate for this Senate seat.
“When this happened so quickly, I felt like that I’ve got a true conservative record people can look at, they can examine it, they can make a judgement call on the fact that I’m the most conservative candidate out there,” Norman said.
He talked through his thought process when deciding to jump into the U.S. Senate race. He says his record and his nearly decade of experience as a congressman, and his dedication to South Carolina, all make him the best candidate.
“Well, what I want the people in South Carolina to know, I will be a representative for them for South Carolina,” Norman said. “I want to accentuate the positives that make South Carolina great: less taxation, less government, less regulations, all the things that we talked about as governor that I have a track record of coming through with.”
Norman and four others say they’re running for the seat, including Graham’s sister, Darline Graham, who was appointed to fill the remainder of his term.
President Donald Trump has given Darline his endorsement.
“Do you need the president’s endorsement to win?” Terry asked Norman.
“I would have loved to have President Trump’s endorsement. He chose another path; that’s fine. The people of South Carolina are going to decide who they want to support. The voters are going to have to examine who they want, and examine who can get the job done and be on the job and ready to go day one,” Norman said.
He also gave his thoughts on Rep. Russell Fry potentially throwing his name into the race. Fry is currently running for re-election to his U.S. House seat.
“What he’s doing is not right, with running for two jobs. He can do it, but it puts this whole, our whole majority in jeopardy,” Norman said. “I’ve told [Speaker of the House] Mike Johnson that if Russell or anybody else as a sitting member of Congress wins ... that puts [Democratic Rep.] Hakeem Jeffries the Speaker of the House. That’s something that I don’t think is right to do or to risk.”
Neither Graham nor Fry have filed as of Wednesday. Norman plans to do so later this week.
The special election is two weeks away, on Aug. 11. Some experts have said they expect a runoff.
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