On Tuesday night, appointed Sen. Darline Graham and Rep. Ralph Norman faced off in a debate, just one week before they will be on the ballot for the right to be the Republican Senate nominee in South Carolina this fall.
Going into the debate, I expected that Graham, the younger sister of the late senator Lindsey Graham, would probably win next Tuesday.
Now I’m not so sure.
Why?
Because Graham committed a MASSIVE gaffe when asked a relatively simple foreign policy question by debate moderator Greta van Susteren.
Here’s the exchange:
VAN SUSTEREN: “Senator, are Taiwan and the South China Sea national security issues for the United States? If so, why?”
GRAHAM: “I’m just going to be honest here. I’m not on national security that—I’m not that informed on national security so … but I do support the military….I’m not a polished politician up here. National security is not my thing, not my area of expertise, but I do support the military.”
It’s even more painful — yes, that’s possible —▶ to watch it:
Um…
I have seen a LOT of bad debate answers in my time. Few are worse than that one.
Here’s why: The WHOLE question surrounding Graham, who had never been in elected office or shown any interest in being in elected office prior to her brother’s sudden death on July 11, is whether she has the experience and knowledge to be one of two U.S. Senators representing South Carolina.
When you swing and miss on a pretty basic question about [checks notes] national security, it raises concerns. And simply parroting the line “I do support the military” in hopes of getting yourself out of trouble isn’t exactly comforting either. (Cue “▶Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore” by John Prine.)
The gaffe is deeply revealing. It suggests that Graham is both not entirely ready for primetime but also — and more damagingly — doesn’t appear to have put in the work to get up to speed on what she doesn’t know. And if she’s not going to do that sort of work with a week left before the Senate runoff, how can we be sure she’s ever going to do it?
Unsurprisingly, Graham skeptics seized on her admitting “I’m not that informed on national security” — rapidly.
Haley’s not wrong! (Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, has long ties to Norman.)
And here’s the thing: Graham’s debate gaffe does not appear to be an isolated incident of her ill-preparedness for the job she is seeking.
This, from ’s terrific Substack, is very, very worrisome:
Republicans I spoke to said they still see Graham’s sister as favored in the runoff against Rep. Ralph Norman, but they are also increasingly worried about a highly scripted and buttoned up campaign from her. She has not done much campaigning, and in the limited press availabilities and extemporaneous speaking she’s done, they haven’t been impressed.
One of the things dominating group chats and sidebar conversations in the Palmetto State is how one of Graham’s aides has been mouthing answers while standing behind her during events and press conferences. It’s an odd detail, but it highlights the highly scripted nature of the campaign and the almost blind faith these staffers are putting in their new boss to keep it together. The bright yellow notepad at last night’s debate has also gotten attention. (Graham was briefly booed for a[shoddy answer on Taiwan]and the South China Sea, where she simply said she doesn’t know much about foreign policy and wants to support the troops.)
“A lot of people are looking at the notepad being like, what is that?” the same operative told me.
That is….concerning.
Even before Tuesday’s debate, Norman (and his super PAC allies) were 𝕏driving the is-she-ready message pretty hard.
Not all gaffes in a campaign are equal. Gaffes that really matter to voters tend to share two common traits:
They reinforce an existing doubt within the electorate (as I noted above)
They come at a time when casual voters are paying attention.
I give you ▶Joe Biden’s June 2024 debate performance.
Does this mean Graham will lose? I don’t know!
She won the most votes in the primary (although two thirds of South Carolina GOP voters chose someone else). She has Donald Trump’s endorsement — and the president is headed to Myrtle Beach on Friday to do a rally with her. The man who finished third in the August 11 primary — Rep. Russell Fry — has endorsed her.
But….moments matter. And Graham’s debate gaffe is a MAJOR moment.
Could it cost her a Senate seat? I think it could.
