Graham, Andrews neck and neck in South Carolina Senate race: Poll
Progressive policy ambitions meet practical realities as Americans weigh costs and consequences.
One point. That is not a lead, that is a polite way of saying tied. A Republican senator should not be staring at a dead heat in South Carolina, a state that hands the GOP comfortable margins up and down the ballot.
New Republican Times Editorial Board
Sen. Darline Graham (R-S.C.) and her Democratic opponent, Annie Andrews, are locked in a dead heat in the race for South Carolina's Senate seat, according to a new poll released Saturday evening. The survey, conducted by right-leaning polling firm Trafalgar Group, found Graham leading Andrews by just one point — with a just under three-point
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New Republican Times Editorial Board
One point. That is not a lead, that is a polite way of saying tied. A Republican senator should not be staring at a dead heat in South Carolina, a state that hands the GOP comfortable margins up and down the ballot. The Trafalgar Group poll might tilt to the right, and even it cannot find a real separation. That tells us something.
It tells us this race shouldn't be this close. Annie Andrews is running as a reasonable-sounding Democrat, but her policy record is standard national party stuff. South Carolina voters know better than to trust that messenger. What they may not know yet is how far she would go if given the job. That is on the campaign, not the voters. Sen. Graham has served the state well, but she has to make the case that this election is about her work, not national noise.
The GOP cannot afford to sleepwalk through this one. Every seat matters, and a sleepy finish in a red state is how Senate majorities get lost. This poll is a wake-up call, and it comes with plenty of time to fix the trajectory. Knock on doors, run the ads, draw the contrast. There is no excuse for letting a Democrat squeak into a South Carolina Senate seat.
Graham has the better answers. Now she has to deliver them louder. One point is too close for comfort, and the only acceptable response is to make sure it does not happen again.
Commentary written with AI assistance by the New Republican Times Editorial Board.