With Trump’s support, Lindsey Graham’s sister Darline will replace him in the Senate Political Affairs

The governor of South Carolina has appointed Darline Graham Nordone to serve the last full term of the US senator until early 2027.

South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster has appointed Darline Graham Nordone to replace his late brother. Lindsey Graham in the United States Senate after President Donald Trump endorsed him for the position.

Monday’s appointment will ensure that the seat is quickly filled to maintain a majority of 53 Republican senators in the 100-member chamber. Nordone will serve Graham’s entire term, until January 3.

The longtime senator, who chairs the South Carolina Commission for the Blind, has no political experience. But he has appeared at campaign rallies and political ads alongside his late brother, including when he ran for president in 2016.

On Monday, he said that his job will be to continue his brother’s work. The late Senator was a a strong supporter of Israel and a fan of the US-Israeli war on Iran.

“I promise to work hard over the next few months to support the president and continue my brother’s efforts on behalf of the citizens of South Carolina and the United States,” Nordone said.

He did not say whether he would run in the general election for the Senate.

Republicans will hold primaries next month to replace Graham, who won the party’s primary earlier this year as he seeks re-election. The Republican candidate will then face Democratic pediatrician Annie Andrews.

Earlier on Monday, Trump asked McMaster to nominate Nordone to fill the vacant Senate seat.

“I recommended, to Governor Henry McMaster, Lindsey Graham’s good sister, Darline, to be a regular Senator for the Great State of South Carolina,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

“This would be the perfect tribute to Lindsey, who she loves so much!”

Graham had no wife or children. When he ran for president in 2016, he said that Nordone would be part of his support group if he won.

“If he had participated, he would have been a representative of our country,” Graham, who died Saturday at the age of 71, said at the time.

“I can’t think of a better person to represent our country than my sister.”

Nordone was in his early 20s when both his parents died, and Graham, then in his 20s, raised him.

On Monday, Mr McMaster praised the late senator when he announced his nomination, calling him “uncontested” and “unchangeable”.

“Lindsey took care of her little sister for years after she left.” It is my privilege to ask his younger sister, Darline Graham, to finish her job now,” the governor said.