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US midterms: Democrat Annie Andrews wins US Senate seat in South Carolina upset over Darline Graham

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The Straits Times. (2026, November 4). US midterms: Democrat Annie Andrews wins US Senate seat in South Carolina upset over Darline Graham. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/us-midterms-democrats-gain-us-senate-seat-in-south-carolina-in-stunning-upset-over-darline-graham

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The Straits Times · collected 2026-11-04 · by The Straits Times

Quick Summary

In the recent US midterm elections on November 3, Democrat Annie Andrews defeated Republican Darline Graham to win a Senate seat in South Carolina, marking the first Democratic victory there in 28 years. The race saw significant outside funding, with Republicans investing $27 million compared to Democrats' $24 million. This upset reflects growing voter dissatisfaction with President Trump’s performance, particularly regarding economic issues like high gas prices and inflation.
Written by AI on 2026-11-04, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

In a major upset on Election Night, Dr. Annie Andrews, a pediatrician and Democrat, won the U.S. Senate seat in South Carolina, defeating Republican nominee Darline Graham. This marks the first time since 1998 that a Democrat has secured this seat. Graham was appointed by the governor to finish her late brother Lindsey Graham's term after his death in July and had been seen as a strong favorite until recent polls showed the race tightening.

The election saw close competition, with Andrews narrowly defeating Graham despite being an underdog in what was traditionally a Republican stronghold. The result shocked many observers, including NBC News elections guru Steve Kornacki, who described it as "shocking." This victory is part of broader Democratic gains that could shift control of the U.S. Congress.

Written for “Annie Andrews Wins South Carolina Senate Race” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 14 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 high
Leaning: leans left for article 127483 (high confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-11-04

Story

📰 Annie Andrews Wins South Carolina Senate Race
Politics · 15 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 8% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
NPR
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 1 of 14 claims Outlet record 60/100
Al Jazeera
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 2 of 13 claims Outlet record 60/100
TIME
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 2 of 23 claims Outlet record 59/100
Mother Jones
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 0 of 30 claims Outlet record 60/100
BBC News
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 1 of 8 claims Outlet record 66/100
The Guardian
Hedges 0 of 13 claims Outlet record 66/100
ABC News (US)
Hedges 0 of 1 claims Outlet record 67/100
TIME
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 5 of 54 claims Outlet record 59/100
Mother Jones
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 8 of 86 claims Outlet record 60/100
“Article A describes an event leading up to Election Day, while Article B reports on the actual election results.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

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Claims extracted
12
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
8%
1 of 12 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
66/100
The Straits Times's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
15
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-11-04 · how these are computed

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Publisher

The Straits Times · 4353 article(s) · 5 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 5 correction(s)

Who wrote this

The Straits Times
2849 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction
🔮 The strikes, which also targeted a cargo vessel at sea near Odesa, follow Tuesday's bombardments with missiles and drones that knocked out power to swathes of Ukraine, a week before US-brokered peace talks were set to resume.
🔮 While Ramaswamy, 41, faced sharp backlash over his ad campaign, Trump continued to back the Republican candidate and accused the media of a coordinated attack to undermine his chances. US Vice-President J.D. Vance similarly defended his “good friend” Ramaswamy while on the campaign trail in Ohio. But Democrats swiftly criticised the ad, as did some Republicans including outgoing Ohio governor Mike DeWine, who could not run again due to term limits. In the ad by Ramaswamy’s campaign, Acton’s estranged mother – Donna Arthur – said her daughter has “lied her entire life” and should not be allowed to become governor. Acton issued a statement in October saying that she and her brother had “endured abuse, hunger, and neglect” as children. “Between the ages of 10 and 12, I was sexually abused by her husband, while my birth mother did nothing to protect me,” she said.
🔮 It was a striking Democratic gain in a state President Donald Trump carried by more than 16 percentage points in 2024 and where the race had initially been expected to be safely Republican.
🔮 The top Democrat in the US House of Representatives vowed on Nov 3 he would use his expected majority to go after corruption, in an election when alleged grift by President Donald Trump has been top of voters’ minds.
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🔮 Three-term Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott lost to Democratic state Representative Gina Hinojosa in a stunning upset that ends the Republican Party’s three-decade hold on the governor’s office, US media projected on Nov 3.
🔮 Talarico defeated the state’s Attorney-General Ken Paxton, a close ally of President Donald Trump who survived impeachment and years of scandal, NBC News and CBS News projected.
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🔮 Trump says he will accept results of US midterm elections Erica L. Green and Tyler Pager AI generated
🔮 But after initially saying Trump was “cautiously optimistic,” the mood music changed as Democrats looked increasingly likely to deal the president a bruising setback that could upend his last two years in power.
Also by The Straits Times
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 2849 articles by The Straits Times →

Topics

Democrat Republican Republicans South Carolina US Senate

Subjects

Trump PERSON · 6× Graham PERSON · 5× Andrews PERSON · 4× Republican NORP · 4× Democrat NORP · 3× South Carolina GPE · 3× Annie Andrews PERSON · 2× Darline Graham PERSON · 2× Republicans NORP · 2× US Senate ORG · 2×

Narrative

Andrews’ win in a state that neither Democrats nor Republicans considered competitive until recent weeks embodies the broader rejection of Trump and his handling of the economy during the first two years of his term.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-04

Claims (12 extracted, 1 hedged)

Democrat Annie Andrews wins US Senate seat in South Carolina upset over Darline Graham AI asserted
Andrews → win → Graham
Democrat Annie Andrews won a US Senate seat in conservative South Carolina on Nov 3, according to media projections, ousting Republican Darline Graham in a state President Donald Trump carried by 18 percentage points just two years ago. uncertain
Trump → win → points
Andrews, a paediatrician, is the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in South Carolina in 28 years, a striking gain for a party that needed a net four seats to overturn Republicans’ 53-47 majority. asserted
that → win → majority
Andrews’ win in a state that neither Democrats nor Republicans considered competitive until recent weeks embodies the broader rejection of Trump and his handling of the economy during the first two years of his term. asserted
Democrats → consider → term
Trump’s approval rating hit a record low over voter discontent with the Iran war, high diesel prices and the cost of living, which put once solidly Republican seats into play. asserted
which → hit → play
After the death of his ally, US Senator Lindsey Graham, Trump backed Graham’s sister Darline to fill his seat. asserted
Trump → back → seat
Trump encouraged her to run for a full six-year term despite her low profile and political inexperience. asserted
Trump → encourage → profile
Graham won a special runoff election for the Republican nomination with Trump’s backing, but she acknowledged during the primary that she’s “not that informed on national security.” asserted
she → win → security
Andrews outraised Graham by US$22 million (S$28.12 million). asserted
Andrews → outraise → million
Republican outside groups poured US$27 million into holding the seat, while Democratic groups invested US$24 million to flip it. asserted
groups → pour → it
Trump last week held a rally in the state as the race tightened, where Graham told supporters her opponent is “batshit crazy.” asserted
opponent → hold → supporters
In response, Andrews asked Graham if it’s crazy “to want cheaper gas and groceries.” asserted
it → ask → gas
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