With less than two weeks until Election Day, the president brought his midterm push to a packed arena in upstate South Carolina.
President Donald Trump rallied for Republican Sen. Darline Graham at Clemson University on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026, urging supporters to vote Nov. 3 as if he were on the ballot himself.
What did Trump say at the Darline Graham rally?
Trump told the crowd at the T. Ed Garrison Arena in Pendleton that he is effectively on the ballot because of what his administration has done, pointing to tax cuts and border security. Those gains could disappear as quickly as they came, he warned, and he urged supporters to vote.
He predicted Republicans would reach new heights, saying the country has already made major progress.
Control of both chambers of Congress is at stake, and a handful of seats could decide which party holds power. Trump told the crowd the future of the country is in their hands. Republicans currently hold narrow majorities in both the House and Senate.
What happened at the rally?
Thousands of people waited in line for hours to get in. At least a dozen protesters slipped into the event to disrupt it, though it was not immediately clear how they were removed or whether anyone was detained.
It was Trump’s second visit to South Carolina this year to support Graham. Clemson sits in the state’s conservative upstate region, where Republicans typically run up large margins.
Who is Darline Graham?
Darline Graham is the younger sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, who died suddenly in July of a ruptured aorta at 71, just a month after winning his Republican primary.
Gov. Henry McMaster appointed her to finish her brother’s term, and she was sworn in July 14. She later won a crowded special primary with 10 candidates to secure the Republican nomination for a full term of six years.
She spent about 30 years in state government, including seven years leading the state Commission for the Blind. This is her first run for office. Trump has strongly backed Darline Graham, citing his longtime friendship with her brother. She has said her brother became a father figure to her after their parents died when she was young.
Who is challenging Darline Graham?
Democrat Annie Andrews, a pediatrician who worked for 15 years at the Medical University of South Carolina, is her main opponent. Andrews ran unsuccessfully against Rep. Nancy Mace in 2022. She launched her campaign against Lindsey Graham a year before his death and won a Democratic primary with three candidates in June.
Andrews has focused her campaign on lowering the costs of gas, groceries, housing and health care. During their only televised debate this month, she called Darline Graham unqualified, while Graham replied that she was just as qualified as Andrews. Andrews has argued Graham would act as an ambassador for the White House rather than an independent voice.
Libertarian Kasie Whitener and Constitution Party candidate Mark Hackett are also on the ballot.
Is the South Carolina Senate race competitive?
The race has tightened unexpectedly. Some polls, including surveys from Democratic pollsters, have shown Andrews within single digits or even slightly ahead, a rare position for a Democrat in the state. Outside groups have poured millions of dollars into the race on Graham’s behalf. Republican strategists still view the seat as favorable for their party given the state’s voting history.
South Carolina has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since Fritz Hollings won his final term in 1998.
Trump’s visit signals how seriously Republicans are taking the contest. Voters will decide on Nov. 3 whether Darline Graham keeps the seat her brother held for more than two decades.
