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Annie Andrews upsets Darline Graham in South Carolina

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Quarshie, M. (2026, November 4). Annie Andrews upsets Darline Graham in South Carolina. Washington Examiner. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/congressional/4777909/darline-graham-south-carolina-senate-race-annie-andrews/

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Washington Examiner · collected 2026-11-04 · by Mabinty Quarshie

Quick Summary

In a surprising turn of events, Dr. Annie Andrews defeated Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) in South Carolina’s Senate race, securing a crucial win for Democrats. The race was marked by President Trump's endorsement and rally support for Graham, but Andrews emerged victorious with significant financial backing, raising $9.4 million compared to Graham’s $1.8 million. The upset underscores the shifting political landscape in traditionally red states due to voter discontent with the Trump administration.
Written by AI on 2026-11-06, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

As of November 4, Annie Andrews, a Democrat and pediatrician, won the South Carolina Senate seat in a surprising upset against incumbent Republican Darline Graham. This marks the first time since 1938 that a practicing physician will serve as a Democratic senator. Polls initially showed the race as neck-and-neck, with Graham representing the late Sen. Lindsey Graham's legacy and receiving additional financial support from the GOP due to concerns about losing the seat.

The win by Andrews underscores shifting political dynamics in traditionally Republican states, where associations with President Trump did not necessarily translate into electoral success for Republicans. The election also reflects a broader trend of Democratic gains across various races during this midterm cycle, known as the "blue wave."

Voters cast their ballots on Election Day amid high scrutiny over how political affiliations and endorsements might affect campaign outcomes in key Senate races like North Carolina’s, which remains closely watched but saw different results than South Carolina.

Written for “Democrat's Win Major US Senate Races” on 2026-11-06, grounded in this article and the 73 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted verbatim and was checked against the article text before being stored, so you can find it in the original.
Reading Leans left (beta estimate) Confidence medium
Leaning: leans left for article 127440 (medium confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-11-06

Story

📰 Democrat's Win Major US Senate Races
Politics · 74 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 6% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Democrat Annie Andrews defeats GOP Sen. Darline Graham in South Carolina, a major upset Same event
NBC News
⚖️ Centre further right than this Hedges 0 of 19 claims Outlet record 72/100
Democrat Annie Andrews wins South Carolina Senate race Same event
CBS News
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 0 of 11 claims Outlet record 69/100
Massive upset: Andrews downs Trump-backed Graham in ruby-red South Carolina Same event
Fox News
Hedges 0 of 26 claims Outlet record 67/100
Annie Andrews Flips South Carolina Senate Seat in Stunning Upset Same event
TIME
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 2 of 23 claims Outlet record 59/100
“A Monumental Upset”: Annie Andrews Flips South Carolina Senate Seat Same event
Mother Jones
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 0 of 30 claims Outlet record 60/100
Democrat Annie Andrews wins South Carolina Senate race in major upset Same event
NPR
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 1 of 14 claims Outlet record 60/100
US midterms: Democrat Annie Andrews wins US Senate seat in South Carolina upset over Darline Graham Same event
The Straits Times
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 1 of 12 claims Outlet record 66/100
South Carolina Senate race gets unexpectedly close after Lindsey Graham's sister Darline stumbles Same event
Toronto Star
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 2 of 39 claims Outlet record 64/100
South Carolina elects Democratic senator for first time in almost three decades Same event
BBC News
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 1 of 8 claims Outlet record 66/100
Democrat Annie Andrews flips South Carolina’s Senate seat Same event
Al Jazeera
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 2 of 13 claims Outlet record 60/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
18
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
6%
1 of 18 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
69/100
Washington Examiner's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
74
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-11-06 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

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Who wrote this

Mabinty Quarshie
46 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Democrats may win multiple House races this cycle without spending a cent on TV advertising.
2026-11-04 · mixed framing · Accidental winners from the midterm elections
🔮 President Donald Trump said he does not know for sure whether Vice President JD Vance will run for president in 2028, mere hours after Vance posted a lengthy social media post distancing himself from the Iran war.
2026-11-04 · assertive framing · Trump says he’s not sure if Vance will run for president in 2028
🔮 Democrats will have at least 54 Senate seats and at least 228 House seats, effectively hampering the last two years of the Trump administration.
2026-11-04 · assertive framing · Vance blames Iran war for GOP midterm blowout
🔮 The dominant romp has some Republicans worried that Democrats could remain in control of the upper chamber beyond the 2028 presidential election and potentially as long as 2032.
2026-11-04 · mixed framing · Democrats won control of the Senate. They might not give it back until 2032
🔮 Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) lost her bid for a full term to Democratic opponent Dr. Annie Andrews, a stunning upset to hand Democrats a crucial seat in their quest to flip the upper chamber.
2026-11-04 · assertive framing · Annie Andrews upsets Darline Graham in South Carolina
🔮 The Senate Majority PAC, a super PAC aligned with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), also stopped advertising in the state as Democrats became more confident that Cooper would win.
2026-11-04 · assertive framing · Roy Cooper wins North Carolina Senate race
🔮 President Donald Trump will hold rallies in Iowa and Kansas over the last weekend before the midterm elections after the events were canceled just one day earlier, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to the Washington Examiner.
2026-10-30 · assertive framing · Trump will rally in Iowa and Kansas after initial cancellations
🔮 Vance, meanwhile, is developing a style built around economic populism, cultural conservatism, and his working-class roots, offering an early glimpse of how he might seek to carry Trump’s political movement into the 2028 presidential election.
2026-10-29 · mixed framing · Trump and Vance offer glimpse of MAGA’s future on midterm campaign trail
🔮 Vice President JD Vance announced that the Agriculture Department is opening a new beef processing facility in Texas, a move that will bring jobs and money to the state as the Republican Party works furiously to help boost the economy.
2026-10-29 · assertive framing · Vance announces new beef processing facility in Texas while campaigning for Ken Paxton
🔮 “In the last couple of years, we have cut down on visa fraud and fought against anybody who would lay off an American worker and replace them with a low-wage foreigner because sovereignty means that American jobs go to the American people,” Vance said Monday afternoon while speaking at an airplane hangar in Belgrade, Montana.
2026-10-26 · assertive framing · Vance puts American sovereignty at center of closing midterm argument
Also by Mabinty Quarshie
Democratic Rep. Don Davis wins reelection battle against Laurie Buckhout
2026-11-05 · Washington Examiner
Accidental winners from the midterm elections
2026-11-04 · Washington Examiner
Trump says he’s not sure if Vance will run for president in 2028
2026-11-04 · Washington Examiner
Vance blames Iran war for GOP midterm blowout
2026-11-04 · Washington Examiner
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 46 articles by Mabinty Quarshie →

Topics

Democrats GOP Republican Senate South Carolina

Subjects

Graham PERSON · 6× Trump PERSON · 6× Senate ORG · 5× Andrews PERSON · 4× Darline Graham PERSON · 4× South Carolina GPE · 4× GOP ORG · 3× Norman PERSON · 3× Republican NORP · 3× Democrats NORP · 2×

Narrative

Multiple networks called the Senate race for Andrews shortly after 10 p.m. Recommended Stories The Palmetto State’s Senate race was marked by the sudden death of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, the brother of Darline Graham.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-06
🔮 Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) lost her bid for a full term to Democratic opponent Dr. Annie Andrews, a stunning upset to hand Democrats a crucial seat in their quest to flip the upper chamber.
2026-11-06 · Washington Examiner
Annie Andrews upsets Darline Graham in South Carolina · assertive framing

Claims (18 extracted, 1 hedged)

Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) lost her bid for a full term to Democratic opponent Dr. Annie Andrews, a stunning upset to hand Democrats a crucial seat in their quest to flip the upper chamber. asserted
Graham → lose → chamber
Multiple networks called the Senate race for Andrews shortly after 10 p.m. Recommended Stories The Palmetto State’s Senate race was marked by the sudden death of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, the brother of Darline Graham. asserted
race → call → Graham
President Donald Trump endorsed Darline Graham to succeed her brother permanently in the seat, after she was first appointed on an interim basis. asserted
she → endorse → basis
She nonetheless prevailed in a special primary over Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC). asserted
She → prevail → Norman
Trump rallied in South Carolina on behalf of Graham, a political novice, in the waning days of the primary, helping defeat Norman. asserted
Trump → rally → Norman
But the general election race proved to be more competitive than expected. asserted
race → prove → ?
Democrats are hoping to ride a wave of discontent with the Trump administration to retake control of the House and Senate. asserted
Democrats → hop → House
Blowback from the Iran war has made traditional red states more competitive and caused the GOP to spend precious funds defending Republican candidates. asserted
GOP → make → candidates
Norman blamed Trump for the close race and claimed that if he had been the nominee, the state of the race would have been a layup for the GOP. asserted
state → blame → GOP
Norman said he would vote for Graham, fulfilling an earlier promise, but also stated his family may not vote for Graham. uncertain
family → say → Graham
The Cook Political Report changed the rating of the South Carolina Senate race from “likely Republican” to “lean Republican,” in a state that Trump won by nearly 18 percentage points in 2024. asserted
Trump → change → 2024
Trump again rallied for Graham in late October as part of a multiday, multistate tour to boost GOP turnout before the midterm elections. asserted
Trump → rally → elections
He also caused some controversy when he called Andrews an anti-transgender slur on social media in early October. asserted
he → cause → October
“Annie ‘Trannie’ Andrews is running against our wonderful Darline Graham for the Senate in South Carolina,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. asserted
Trump → run → Social
“Darline is a High Quality person, maybe the Highest, and Annie Trannie is not, in particular, as it pertains to representing the Values of the Great People of South Carolina.” asserted
it → pertain → Carolina
In the sole debate between Graham and Andrews, the two women traded blows over artificial intelligence and data center construction, the nation’s debt problem, and Social Security. asserted
women → trade → intelligence
In the final federal election commission reports before the election, Andrews raised $9.4 million in the third quarter and had $2.3 million on hand at the end of September. asserted
Andrews → raise → September
Graham raised $1.8 million since her campaign launched in July and had $610,000 on hand during the same time period. asserted
campaign → raise → period
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