Nancy Mace set to enter South Carolina Senate race after Lindsey Graham death: Report | Today’s news

The sudden death of Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham has sparked a race to fill one of South Carolina’s two Senate seats and opened the door to a competitive Republican contest just months before the 2026 election.

Graham died on Saturday after what his office described as a “short and sudden illness”, two days after his 71st birthday. Graham, a longtime ally of President Donald Trump and one of the Senate’s most influential voices on foreign policy, has been seeking a fifth term and has already secured the Republican nomination.

Under South Carolina law, Gov. Henry McMaster appoints an interim replacement until Jan. 3, when the next senator is sworn in. The state also has until Aug. 11 to hold a special Republican primary to choose a new candidate for the November election.

Rep. Nancy Mace is set to launch a bid for the Senate seat, according to Politico, which cited two people familiar with her plans.

The outgoing House member is expected to begin voting this week and still has remaining campaign funds from previous congressional elections. Mace is leaving the House after an unsuccessful run for governor earlier this year, where she finished fifth in the Republican primary.

It wouldn’t be her first Senate campaign. Mace challenged Graham in the 2014 Republican primary, but finished a distant fifth.