With his grip on the South Carolina Republican primary suddenly less certain than anyone anticipated, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is calling in the biggest favor he has — President Donald Trump.
Graham announced Monday that Trump has agreed to join a last-minute tele-rally Monday evening ahead of Tuesday’s GOP primary, urging supporters to dial in at 5:30 p.m.
“I’m proud to be endorsed by President Trump, and I’d be honored to have you join us for a Tele-Rally TONIGHT at 5:30 PM,” Graham wrote on X.
The move underscores an uncomfortable reality for the four-term incumbent: heading into Tuesday’s vote, Graham cannot be certain he will clear the 50% threshold South Carolina requires to avoid a June 23 runoff.
The most recent polling tells a mixed story. A late-May Citadel Poll of likely Republican primary voters had Graham at just 46% — four points short of the runoff barrier — with challenger Mark Lynch at 36%. A Trafalgar Group survey conducted around the same time showed a more comfortable 52%-28% edge, and a poll released Saturday by The Public Sentiment Institute put Graham at 51% to Lynch’s 26%.
The wild card is Graham’s hawkish support for the U.S.-Israel war against Iran. Lynch has made it the centerpiece of his challenge, arguing Graham is focused on prolonging a conflict South Carolinians are growing tired of. “People are tired of him getting [the United States] into endless, needless wars,” Lynch told the Christian Science Monitor in a piece published Monday.
The TPSI poll found that among voters who believe Israel has too much influence in American politics — roughly 36% of the Republican electorate — Lynch actually led Graham, 37% to 33%.
Graham has shown no sign of backing down. “If you’re scared of losing your job, you cannot be a very good senator,” he told the Post and Courier, according to the Christian Science Monitor.
Trump formally endorsed Graham on June 4, urging South Carolina Republicans to vote for him, and Graham has leaned hard into that alliance. But with Lynch self-funding his campaign to the tune of $5 million and anti-establishment energy running high, Trump’s voice on a phone line may be the deciding factor between a clean win and two more weeks of political headaches for the Palmetto State’s senior senator.
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