5NOV

Andrews ousts Graham Nordone by 86,285

1 min read

00:50UTC

Annie Andrews banked about 220,000 more early and mail votes than Darline Graham Nordone, then held on as the interim senator won polling day in South Carolina.

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Key takeaway

Andrews won South Carolina's Senate seat on early votes while a Republican leads for governor.

Annie Andrews beat interim Senator Darline Graham Nordone in South Carolina's Senate race, taking 1,034,418 votes to her 948,133, 51.02% to 46.76%, on the South Carolina State Election Commission's unofficial midnight workbook⁠¹. Graham Nordone, the sister of the late Senator Lindsey Graham, conceded at 11:57pm⁠².

Andrews built the win before polling day. Early votes went her way 609,876 to 404,421 and mail ballots 27,623 to 13,061, about 220,000 votes ahead in all. Graham Nordone then won polling day 530,305 to 396,079, and lost. The Senate Leadership Fund had spent against Andrews through October.

The same ballot did not swing evenly. Attorney General Alan Wilson, the Republican, leads Jermaine Johnson for governor by 1,046,730 votes to 951,437, about 98,600 more votes than Graham Nordone received. In the 1st District, Nancy Lacore (D) leads Jenny Costa Honeycutt by 2,356 votes, or 0.73%, a Democratic gain if it holds.

Deep Analysis

In plain English

South Carolina, a Republican-leaning state in the US South, elected Democrat Annie Andrews to the US Senate. She beat Darline Graham Nordone, a Republican appointed to the seat on an interim basis. Andrews built her lead among people who voted early or by post. Graham Nordone won more votes on polling day itself but not enough to catch up. The same voters still put a Republican, Alan Wilson, ahead in the race for governor, so many of them split their votes between the parties.

Deep Analysis

Root Causes

South Carolina's result split by how people voted. Andrews won early and mail ballots by about 220,000, while Graham Nordone won polling-day votes by about 134,000, so the timing of the vote decided the seat.

The governor's race shows the limit of the swing. Alan Wilson, the sitting attorney general, ran about 98,600 votes ahead of Graham Nordone, which points to voters splitting their tickets rather than abandoning Republicans wholesale.

What could happen next?

Meaning
A Democrat won a South Carolina Senate seat while a Republican led for governor on the same ballot, evidence of ticket-splitting rather than a full party realignment.
Consequence
The 1st District would become a Democratic gain if Nancy Lacore's 0.73% lead survives the count.

Sources:CBS News·South Carolina Election Commission

Mentions:Annie Andrews →Darline Graham Nordone →South Carolina State Election Commission →Alan Wilson →Nancy Lacore →Lindsey Graham →South Carolina →Senate Leadership Fund →US Senate →Jaime Harrison →Alabama →Democratic Party →

First Reported In

Update #23 · Democrats take the Senate and the House

CBS News· 5 Nov 2026

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Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Editorial standards.