WASHINGTON — Sen. Darline Graham Nordone (R-SC) faltered twice in a bruising Tuesday night primary runoff debate against Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), first conceding she was “not that informed” on key national security matters and later misstating South Carolina’s population.
Graham Nordone, the sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, was pressed on whether she views “Taiwan and the South China Sea” as national security concerns for the United States — and, if so, to explain why.
“I’m just gonna be honest here,” Graham said in response. “I’m not that informed on national security. But I do support the military.”
She pointed to her family’s military background as she sought to frame her answer. “My brother was in the Air Force for 33 years, so I will do everything I can to support the military,” she said. “My dad was in the Army. I’m not a polished politician up here. National security is not my thing, not my area of expertise, but I support the military.”
The United States has for decades followed a delicate policy of strategic ambiguity toward Taiwan, intended to discourage a Chinese attack on the self-governing island while preserving working relations with Beijing.
After Washington formally recognized the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and ended recognition of the Taipei-based Republic of China (ROC) in 1979, Congress approved the Taiwan Relations Act, creating unofficial ties with Taiwan despite the lack of formal diplomatic relations.
The law specifically commits the US to provide Taiwan with arms “to resist any resort to force or other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security, or social or economic system, of the people of Taiwan.”
Under the broader “One China” policy, the United States acknowledges the PRC’s claim to Taiwan but does not endorse it, following a 1972 joint communique with Beijing stating that “all Chinese on either side of the Taiwan Strait maintain there is but one China and that Taiwan is a part of China.”
“Lindsey Graham was well informed on the United States’ national security,” former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who has endorsed Norman, chided on X in response to the gaffe.
“Darline Graham admits she’s not. This is not something you inherit. And it’s critical in the U.S. Senate.”
During her campaign, Graham had stressed that she would place far more emphasis on domestic policy than her late brother, one of the most hawkish foreign policy voices in Congress.
However, her second error came as she tried to pivot to local issues.
“There’s 50 million people in South Carolina. Half of them live paycheck to paycheck,” said Graham, incorrectly multiplying the Palmetto State’s population by 10.
Darline Graham, 62, was appointed by GOP South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster to serve out her brother’s term following Lindsey Graham’s sudden death July 11 from an aortic dissection, but decided last month to run for a full six-year term herself.
Graham, who has been endorsed by President Trump, will face off with Norman next week in a special runoff to determine the Republican nominee. Lindsey Graham had won the regular Senate primary the month before his death.
