Sen. Lindsey Graham gets a 2026 challenge from Democrat Annie Andrews, who ran against Nancy Mace

COLUMBIA S C AP Dr Annie Andrews the South Carolina Democrat who unsuccessfully challenged Rep Nancy Mace in says she s running against Republican Sen Lindsey Graham in challenging the four-term incumbent in part due to what she characterized as his waffling positions over the syllabus of his political career He s changed his position on nearly every issue over that time and that s because in my view he doesn t stand for anything or believe in anything other than what it takes to get reelected Andrews a pediatrician in Charleston stated The Associated Press before a campaign rollout Thursday In her launch video Andrews says it s embarrassing to see how politicians like Graham at the moment one of President Donald Trump s top Senate allies have swung from criticizing Trump to working to gain his favor The video features archival video of Graham bemoaning critics who called Trump a kook and then a year earlier using the same term to describe his former GOP primary foe in the presidential contest Andrews also levies criticism at Graham for voting to confirm Trump s Cabinet picks and for his relationship with Elon Musk describing an unelected billionaire taking a chainsaw to Social Protection Medicare and veterans healthcare She calls Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth a guy who can t even organize a text thread a reference to the new Signal chat outrage in which war plans were discussed No Democrat has won a U S Senate seat in South Carolina in decades and Republicans in latest history typically take statewide seats by double-digit margins When he last ran in Graham defeated his Democratic opponent Jaime Harrison by a percentage point margin That contest turned into South Carolina s majority of expensive ever with both candidates posting record fundraising that surpassed million total and continued to grow in the race s closing days Harrison who went on to chair the Democratic National Committee became the first U S Senate candidate to amass a war chest of more than million over the module of the race Andrews was the Democratic nominee who unsuccessfully sought to unseat Mace in losing to the Republican by percentage points South Carolina s st District which spans the state s southern coast is the only one to have flipped from red to blue in decades when Joe Cunningham won it for Democrats for a single term in the ballot Mace won it in and has been reelected twice although in she is eyeing a race for governor In the years since her House run Andrews stepped away from her practice at the Curative University of South Carolina and founded a political organization focused on issues related to children including atmosphere change gun violence and childhood poverty According to federal filings an affiliated political action committee Their Future PAC gave to a handful of candidates in the cycle and had about on hand at the end of Appealed about Democrats lackluster statewide record in the state Andrews revealed she felt Harrison s effort was hamstrung by necessary precautions in place during the pandemic Now she commented voters feel strained under the effects of the Trump administration s chaotic policies Lindsey Graham has had years to make things better for folks here in South Carolina and I think you d be hard-pressed to find a multitude of voters who could articulate in what way Lindsey has made their life better Andrews disclosed Graham seeking his fifth Senate term kicked off his reelection campaign in February announcing that Gov Henry McMaster and Sen Tim Scott would chair his effort Scott the state s junior senator is serving as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee the chamber s campaign arm At least one Republican has communicated a primary challenge to Graham Meg Kinnard can be reached at http x com MegKinnardAP Source