It’s official: President Donald Trump is returning to South Carolina next week to rally support for Sen. Darline Graham and other Republicans ahead of the midterms.
The rally will be Wednesday in Clemson. The scheduled start time is 7 p.m., the Republican National Committee announced Thursday evening.
The announcement did not say where in Clemson.
But the Upstate college town is only a few miles from Central, the hometown of Graham and her late brother, Lindsey Graham.
Darline Graham, who lives in Lexington, was appointed in July to fulfill his fourth term, which ends in January. She then won a 10-way special GOP primary to replace her brother on the Nov. 3 ballot for the next six-year term — a race she entered at Trump’s encouragement.
Polls show her in a tighter-than-expected contest with Democrat Annie Andrews in a state Trump won by nearly 18 percentage points two years ago.
In a call-in rally Thursday night, Trump called Graham “one of the greats,” adding that she has “great genetics,” referring to her brother.
The tele-rally was held with Graham, as well as Attorney General Alan Wilson, the GOP nominee for governor, and Jenny Costa Honeycutt, the GOP nominee for the coastal 1st District.
The call was intended to ramp up enthusiasm ahead of early voting, which starts Monday in South Carolina.
He told callers to pretend he’s on the ballot when they vote, whether that’s during the two-week early voting window or on Election Day.
“Essentially, I am on the ballot,” Trump said.
Trump last rallied in South Carolina in August ahead of Graham’s GOP runoff against U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman.
The Myrtle Beach event seemed to help with turnout. Her biggest win came in ruby red Horry County, where she won 73% of the vote.
But Norman won the Upstate.
Clemson is in the 3rd District (which includes Laurens County), where freshman U.S. Rep. Sheri Biggs is seeking re-election against Democrat Eunice Lehmacher of Central and Libertarian Brian Corriea of Williamston.
Katharine Wilson writes about politics for the SC Daily Gazette. Before joining the publication, she wrote about local and state politics for The Baltimore Sun.
SC Daily Gazette is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
