New York Times/Siena poll found a 48-48 tie the week before election

The Guardian reported that Democrat Annie Andrews, a pediatrician who campaigned on healthcare affordability, won South Carolina’s U.S. Senate race in the 2026 midterms, defeating Republican Darline Graham. Andrews becomes the first Democrat to represent the state in the Senate since 1998 and the first woman elected to represent South Carolina in the chamber. Graham is the sister of the late Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham.

The Guardian said Andrews had faced an uphill battle in what it described as a reliably Republican state. Darline Graham, 62, had been appointed by South Carolina’s governor to serve out the remainder of her brother’s term after Lindsey Graham died in July at age 71. The Guardian described the late senator as a Republican powerbroker.

Andrews’s victory marked the first time South Carolina had elected a woman to the U.S. Senate. The milestone came nearly a century after Hattie Caraway of Arkansas became the first female U.S. senator in 1932.

As of October, The Guardian reported, 15 U.S. states still had never had a woman as a U.S. senator. Those states included several that the outlet described as liberal northeastern states: Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New Jersey and Vermont.

Andrews campaigned on healthcare affordability, while Darline Graham stayed close to Donald Trump in her platform. Graham said she fully trusted Trump on tariffs and the war with Iran.

The Guardian described the war with Iran as deeply unpopular with a majority of Americans. The candidates differed over the war with Iran: Andrews called it “illegal” and criticized its effect on gas prices. In September, she said she wanted to “find our way out of this illegal, unconstitutional billion-dollar-a-day war overseas.”

Graham’s lack of national political experience was also part of the contest. During an August debate about U.S. policy on Taiwan, Graham said she was “not that informed on national security.” The Guardian reported that her lack of national political experience was believed to have made the race more competitive.

A New York Times/Siena poll conducted the week before the election found Andrews and Graham neck and neck, each with 48% support. South Carolina had last elected a Democrat to the Senate in 1998.

Donald Trump had publicly urged Graham to run and campaigned enthusiastically for her. The Guardian reported that Trump also denigrated his Democratic opponent, including referring to Andrews with a transphobic slur.

The Guardian reported that Andrews had tried to distinguish herself from other Democrats on several issues. LGBTQ+ advocates criticized her for an advertisement she aired in the final month of the campaign. In the ad, Andrews referred to trans women as “biological men” and said she did not support gender surgery for minors and had never performed it.

The report also noted Andrews’s earlier positions on transgender issues. In 2022, she called South Carolina’s Save Women’s Sports Act “actively harmful” and wrote on X, “I will always support trans youth.”

Her win returned a Democrat to a Senate seat South Carolina had last filled with one in 1998. It also gave Democrats a seat in a state The Guardian described as reliably Republican and made Andrews the first woman elected from South Carolina to the Senate.

Joseph Gedeon contributed reporting.