Former GOP Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer has launched a bid to unseat four-term U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham in 2026, saying he’s the “real MAGA” alternative for fed-up GOP voters.
Bauer, who left elected office in 2011 after losing a bid for governor, announced his candidacy Wednesday, The Associated Press first reported.
The 56-year-old former legislator and two-term lieutenant governor says he’s the true conservative who will fight to rein in federal spending and oppose sending troops and taxpayers’ money to fight wars overseas.
Calling South Carolina’s senior senator a “war monger and globalist,” Bauer told the SC Daily Gazette it doesn’t matter that Graham already has President Donald Trump’s endorsement for a fifth term.
“I am the real Trump guy. I endorsed him in 2016, and I’ve stuck with him the whole time. I never left him,” Bauer said, noting Graham’s sometimes rocky relationship with the president over the last decade.
“He’s not MAGA,” Bauer said, referring to Trump’s Make America Great Again slogan and dubbing Graham as “liberal Lindsey.”
In response, Graham’s campaign stressed that Trump gave his “complete and total endorsement” to the incumbent senator. And just this week, the Senate Budget Committee chairman helped push Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” through the Senate to deliver the president’s “America First” agenda, said Graham campaign spokesperson Abby Zilch.
As for who’s MAGA, she recrafted the slogan for Bauer’s campaign: “This is all about Making Andre Great Again.”
Also this week, Chris LaCivita, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign, signed on to Graham’s campaign staff, telling reporters “President Trump has made it clear that he wants Sen. Graham by his side to keep delivering results, and I’m proud to do my part to ensure that happens.”
LaCivita also has prior ties to Bauer, having run his unsuccessful 2010 campaign for governor. After Bauer’s announcement, LaCivita posted a photo on X indicating he’ll bombard his former client with opposition.
Graham’s team
Graham, who launched his re-election bid in February, has a history of attracting — and besting — challengers from his right flank.
In 2014, he fended off six Republican opponents without needing a runoff. In 2020, he easily defeated three GOP challengers before taking on Democrat Jaime Harrison, who lost by double digits in what was then the most expensive U.S. Senate race ever.
Beyond getting Trump’s endorsement for 2026, Graham’s re-election co-chairs are Gov. Henry McMaster and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott. And a long list of GOP heavyweights helping him raise money include David Wilkins, former U.S. ambassador to Canada and House speaker; former state GOP Chair Karen Floyd; and Ed McMullen, Trump’s former ambassador to Switzerland.
Still, Graham could face a tougher contest in a smaller GOP primary field.
Trump’s backing doesn’t guarantee the party faithful will support him, as seen at a Trump campaign event in Pickens on Independence Day two years ago, when the crowd booed Graham off the stage on his home turf. The Upstate event wasn’t far from his hometown of Seneca.
“You can bet Bauer heard that boo,” former SC GOP Chairman Katon Dawson told the SC Daily Gazette.
Dawson, whose tenure spanned campaigns by both Graham and Bauer, called both men “talented politicians” but said he expects Graham to be able to shake off many of the criticisms thrown his way.
“He can piss off one wing of the party, but that won’t be all of them,” Dawson said.
Time in office
Greenville businessman Mark Lynch, owner of Jeff Lynch Appliance Center, launched his campaign to oust Graham in February. After putting $5 million of his own money into the campaign, he’s already running TV ads to boost his profile.
Bauer, who lives in Travelers Rest, has name recognition from his time in office, starting with his election to the state House in 1996 at age 27 representing a Lexington County district. Three years later, he won a special election for a state Senate seat spanning four counties before being elected lieutenant governor in 2002 at age 33.
At the time, he was the youngest lieutenant governor in the country.
Still, it has been 13 years since Bauer has run for office and 19 years since he’s won.
Voters who have moved into the fast-growing state since then won’t know him.
Dawson said he saw it firsthand at a Nikki Haley campaign event during her failed presidential bid last year. Inside a crowded room in Beaufort, he said she asked the crowd how many remembered her as the governor — an office she left in January 2017. Only about a quarter of the room raised their hands.
“There are lots of new voters up for grabs,” said Dawson, chairman from 2002 to 2009. “I’ve seen them; they’re out there. And they’re all along the coast.”
Bauer’s last campaign was in 2012 for the state’s then-new 7th Congressional District, when he a lost a runoff to eventual U.S. Rep. Tom Rice. In 2010, he placed last in a four-way GOP primary ultimately won in a runoff by Haley, who went on to win the Governor’s Mansion that November.
In the interim, Bauer’s gotten married and become a father to four children ages 5 to 17. Having children changed his entire perspective, he said: “There’s a lot of growth from 40 to 56.”
“I think it’s a good break,” Dawson said of Bauer’s time away from office. “He’s still young.”
Still, the former GOP chairman was surprised to see Bauer taking on an entrenched U.S. senator with what could be $70 million-plus in fundraising capacity. Graham currently has nearly $16 million on hand, according to the latest campaign filings.
Bauer said he recognizes the money disadvantage.
“This is fighting an Army with a toothpick,” he said. “When you’re part of the system, you’re going to raise a lot of money.”
But the former marathoner, who’s known to walk hundreds of miles over a campaign, plans to out-work Graham to convince voters “what true MAGA is.”
“I wouldn’t want to run against Andre Bauer,” Dawson said. “I think Andre’s asset is Andre. He’ll hang off bridges with signs if he has to.”
Graham’s advantages
But Dawson pointed to South Carolina’s history of re-electing long-time, incumbent senators of both parties.
Graham was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002 to replace retiring GOP Sen. Strom Thurmond, who left office after turning 100 and died six months later. U.S. Sen. Fritz Hollings, who remained a Democrat over his four-decade tenure as he fought for balanced budgets, retired in 2004. He died in 2019 at age 97.
Dawson noted neither was voted out. And he said he’d be surprised if Graham doesn’t hold on to his seat.
He considers Graham’s hawkish stances on foreign policy, to include his continued staunch support of Israel and approval of Trump’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, to be a strength in this military friendly state.
“He’s got a lot of friends and he’s done a lot of favors,” Dawson said. “If anything, South Carolina likes a career politician who knows how to bring the bacon home. And Sen. Graham certainly does that.”
Jessica Holdman writes about the economy, workforce and higher education. Before joining the SC Daily Gazette, she was a business reporter for The Post and Courier.
Seanna Adcox is a South Carolina native with three decades of reporting experience. She joined States Newsroom in September 2023 after covering the S.C. Legislature and state politics for 18 years. Her previous employers include The Post and Courier and The Associated Press.
SC Daily Gazette is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
