Trump says South Carolina's governor should appoint Graham's sister
Darline Graham accepted the appointment to temporarily fill the Senate seat left vacant by her brother’s death.

SOURCE CHECK
TAP FOR WHYCredibility rates Thetimes-tribune, which republished this story. The other scores rate the article itself.
The article is attributed to the Associated Press, an established wire service with strong reporting standards. The local newspaper identifies the AP authors and dateline, making the reporting source transparent.
- Track record — The reporting is attributed to the established Associated Press.
- Author attribution — Two AP reporters are credited in the article, with an additional AP contributor identified.
- Transparency — The AP dateline and photo credit make the wire-service origin clear.
- Source type — This is reported news from a major wire service, republished by a local newspaper.
The article provides specific appointment and election details, attributes statements, and includes information about potential candidates and the federal ballot-timing issue. Some context remains unresolved, including the Federal Election Commission's lack of response, and one source on Scott Bessent's private conversations is anonymous.
HOW WE SCORE ↗The report covers the appointment, election timeline, potential Republican contenders, and the Democratic nominee. It supplies useful factual context but does not include an opposing view of the appointment or resolve the federal election-timing question.
- Source diversity — The article includes comments from state and federal officials and references candidate statements and federal filings.
- Counterarguments presented — No direct criticism or defense of the appointment is presented.
- Omitted context — The article notes but does not resolve the potential conflict between the election calendar and federal ballot requirements.
- Loaded language — Descriptions of the political contest are restrained and attributed or contextualized.
The article uses a straightforward reportorial tone and presents the appointment, election process, and possible contenders without a discernible ideological framing.
- Language tone — The wording is predominantly factual and descriptive.
- Source selection — The article draws on officials, candidates' public statements, filings, and an attributed anonymous source.
- Framing — The story focuses on the vacancy and succession process rather than advocating a political outcome.
Republished with credit
Republished from Twincities, with credit to the original publisher.
12 stories · 73–79 · updated Oct 6, 2026
This is Twincities's own score, and this article is credited to Twincities. The host score in the Source Check is Thetimes-tribune's.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster named Darline Graham to temporarily fill the Senate seat left vacant by her brother Lindsey Graham’s death. A special election is expected to determine the Republican nominee for the general election.
McMaster announced that Darline Graham would serve the remaining months of her brother’s Senate term. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said she would be sworn in Tuesday, and McMaster said President Donald Trump thought the appointment was a great idea. Darline Graham described serving as an honor and said she would do it for her brother.
The article reports that a special primary is scheduled for Aug. 11, with a possible runoff on Aug. 25, and that the general election is set for Nov. 3. It also describes potential Republican contenders and reports that Democrat Annie Andrews called for South Carolinians to set partisanship aside and express gratitude for Lindsey Graham’s service.
Community verdict
VOTING CLOSEDNo good or bad look here
This story reports what happened without casting Graham in a good or bad light, so readers don’t rate it and it doesn’t count toward Graham’s record.
People in this story
SWIPE →Appointed to serve the remaining months of her brother’s Senate term
Senator whose death created the vacancy
Graham's version of this story ↗Representative and possible Senate contender
Representative identified as a possible Senate contender
Graham’s former Democratic opponent
Businessman and possible Senate contender
President who supported the appointment
Representative and possible Senate contender
Senate majority leader who said when Darline Graham would be sworn in
Treasury secretary who was contacted about possibly filling the seat
Democratic nominee for the Senate general election
Part of a bigger story
96 OUTLETSOutlets agree South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster appointed Darline Graham Nordone to complete the Senate term of her late brother, Lindsey Graham, following a recommendation from Donald Trump. Left-leaning outlets focus on nepotism and qualification questions, with Newsone arguing the pick exposes political double standards. Center outlets emphasize the succession process and South Carolina's special election timeline. Right-leaning outlets highlight Donald Trump's backing and praise the appointment as a fitting continuation of Lindsey Graham's legacy.
- ARTICLES
- 125
- OUTLETS
- 96
- AVG CRED
- 70
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