Ralph Norman Supporters Boo Trump After Losing South Carolina Senate Runoff
After losing the Republican primary runoff, Ralph Norman’s supporters loudly booed Donald Trump when the president praised the winning candidate.
In South Carolina’s Republican special primary runoff, Darline Graham defeated Ralph Norman with 52.5 percent of the vote. Donald Trump, who had personally rallied for Graham and urged his followers on Truth Social to vote for her, announced her win on the platform. Norman, delivering a concession speech, admitted he had not prepared remarks and expressed surprise at the loss, then remarked on Trump’s right to intervene, which was met with loud boos from the crowd.
He criticized the outcome as beneficial to Democrats and cited $8 million in PAC money spent against him, emphasizing his campaign’s reliance on local and personal funds. Norman also mentioned his recent defeat in the gubernatorial primary and said he would support Graham, though he hinted his next role would be outside politics.
Why it matters
The incident shows deep divisions within the GOP over Trump’s influence in local races.
How this story developed
- Aug 17 Midterm outlook shifts as key Senate and governor contests turn competitive
- Aug 21 Donald Trump appeared at a Myrtle Beach rally backing Sen. Darline Graham, prompting Republican operatives in swing states to question his allocation of support.
- Aug 21 Trump made an in‑person appearance to endorse Graham ahead of the runoff.
- Aug 22 Trump held a rally in Myrtle Beach urging voters to support Graham ahead of the runoff.
- Aug 22 Former Republican David Jolly secured the Democratic nomination for governor.
- Aug 22 The Cook Political Report updated its ratings for the Texas and Iowa Senate contests.
- Aug 24 A runoff election has been scheduled for Tuesday.
- Aug 24 Early voting for the runoff recorded 63,712 ballots, slightly ahead of the 61,775 cast in the primary.
- Aug 24 Make America Great Again Inc. has committed almost $828,000 to support Darline Graham Nordone in the South Carolina Senate GOP primary runoff against Ralph Norman.
- Aug 25 Tuesday runoff election was held to select the GOP nominee.
- Aug 25 Voters cast ballots in the runoff on Tuesday.
- Aug 25 A Trafalgar Group poll shows the race essentially tied, with Graham at 47.9% and Norman at 47.8% and 4.4% undecided.
- Aug 25 University of Texas/Texas Politics Project poll shows Democrat James Talarico ahead of Republican Ken Paxton.
- Aug 25 Graham’s debate remark about limited national‑security knowledge sparked concerns about her qualifications.
In this story
Related stories
14 in this thread