The death of U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham has left the GOP scrambling to find a replacement (Photo by Michael Key/Washington Blade)
JOE REBERKENNY | Washington Blade
Courtesy National LGBT Media Association
Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina died Saturday night, July 11, leaving behind a power vacuum within the Republican Party and questions over who will win his seat in the November elections.
The South Carolina senator had been a major part of Republican politics up until his death, which happened suddenly at his home in D.C., reportedly of an aortic dissection related to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster on Monday, July 13, appointed the late senator’s sister, Darlene Graham, to fill his seat in the U.S. Senate through the end of his term. Her appointment came after Trump recommended her in a post on Truth Social on Monday.
“This would be a fabulous tribute to Lindsey, who loved her dearly!” Trump wrote on his social network.
Lindsey Graham has long been a fixture in government at both the state and federal level. He began his political career in the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1992, representing the Palmetto State’s 2nd District before eventually moving to the federal government.
He moved up to Capitol Hill after his 1994 run for the U.S. House of Representatives. He stepped across the rotunda to the Senate in 2003 following the retirement of longtime senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina.
Graham, long considered to be a closeted gay man (rumors he vehemently denied), consistently opposed LGBTQ rights during his entire tenure in Congress. He voted against the 2022 Respect for Marriage Act, saying the decision should be left up to state governments. He voted against the 2013 Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and he opposed the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the policy that kept LGBTQ people from serving openly in the U.S. military.
With Graham’s sudden passing, the Republican Party is scrambling to find a replacement who can advance both its goals and those of the president as the GOP’s supermajority in the federal government begins to shrink.
Among those reportedly in the running is Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the highest-ranking openly-LGBTQ+ federal official in American history and fifth in the presidential line of succession.
Bessent, a South Carolina native, was formerly a supporter of the Democratic Party and donated to several Democratic presidential candidates before switching parties in 2017 following Trump’s election in 2016. He later donated $1 million to Trump’s 2017 presidential inaugural committee.
On Sunday, Bessent was fielding calls from people asking him to run to replace Graham, according to a person familiar with the communications. But a person close to Bessent told Politico that he is not interested in the seat, saying he is happy in his role as Treasury secretary, a position he has long wanted.
The Washington Blade reached out to the Treasury Department for comment but did not receive a response.
One of the most widely discussed possibilities to fill the vacant Senate seat is South Carolina’s Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette. She is a staunch supporter of Donald Trump and has gone as far as criticizing Republicans for not supporting the conspiracy theory that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.
Trump also endorsed Evette’s gubernatorial campaign, though she ultimately lost to her now-boss, Gov. Henry McMaster.
McMaster, who is also on the list of possible replacements, has a long history of opposing LGBTQ rights as well. During an October 2022 gubernatorial debate, he said that if the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Obergefell v. Hodges, he would enforce South Carolina’s pre-existing law banning same-sex marriage.
In 2022, McMaster signed legislation requiring student athletes from elementary school through college to compete on teams corresponding to the sex listed on their birth certificates.
Another possible replacement for Graham reportedly being considered is U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, the South Carolina congresswoman who has had a contentious relationship with LGBTQ+ issues during her time in Congress.
Mace began her congressional tenure as a supporter of LGBTQ+ rights, becoming one of the few Republicans to publicly support the Respect for Marriage Act, before making a complete about-face as transgender issues became a central part of the Republican Party’s political strategy.
Mace introduced a resolution to ban trans women from using female restrooms in the U.S. Capitol, a move she acknowledged was in direct response to the election of U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride, the Delaware Democrat who is the first out trans person elected to Congress.
In a November 2024 post on X, Mace wrote: “We support gay marriage, and voted for the Respect for Marriage Act twice. However, if you think protecting women is discrimination, you are the problem. We don’t care if you’re trans, if you have balls we don’t want you in the women’s bathroom.”
Two other names being floated are U.S. Rep. Russell Fry, who represents South Carolina’s 7th Congressional District, and U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, who represents the state’s 5th Congressional District.
Republicans hold increasingly narrow majorities over Democrats in both the U.S. Senate and House, complicating efforts to advance Trump’s agenda, which includes continuing the war in Iran, securing Todd Blanche’s confirmation as attorney general and adding $350 billion in defense spending to the SAVE America Act — a controversial proposal deemed a “Jim Crow 2.0” among voting rights advocates.