COLUMBIA, S.C. — Republican Lindsey Graham has won reelection to his U.S. Senate seat in South Carolina by defeating Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison., in the process fending off the most serious challenge of his political career.
The Associated Press called the race shortly after 10 p.m.
The contest turned into the most competitive and talked about U.S. Senate race in South Carolina so far this century, as TV airwaves were flooded with campaign commercials, atypical for a state that usually doesn’t see high stakes political drama in the general election.
In his victory speech, Graham thanked supporters and promised to continue to take state interest to Washington and find common ground.
"Here's the message I got. People like what I'm doing and I'm gonna keep doing it," he said.
During his speech he spoke about national security, the presidential race, and how much support he had. He also went on to say he received two phone calls since the results, one from President Donald Trump and another from his opponent, Jamie Harrison.
According to Graham, he was overwhelmed and challenged, but felt lots of support. At the end of his speech, Graham got a bit emotional.
"What I'm going to do is take the spirit of this win and harness it and do the best I can, as long as I can," Graham said.
Jamie Harrison gave a speech moments before Graham. Majority whip Jim Clyburn said a few words about Harrison before he took the stage.
"He didn’t get elected to the US Senate tonight, but Jaime is a real winner," Clyburn said.
Harrison began his speech by thanking supporters, and reciting the state motto, "While I breathe, I hope."
"We proved that a new south is rising. Tonight only slowed us down."
Harrison went on to talk about the work he hopes will continue in SC with rural communities, healthcare, agriculture and more. He congratulated Graham, and says he hopes they can continue to work towards the new south together.
“We are strong, we are resourceful, we are brave, we are South Carolinians, and we will build a new south, together. While we breathe we hope, my friends." Harrison said.
One thing about the race is for certain: it’s the most expensive contest in the state’s history. Well over $100 million has been spent combined by the two campaigns, with a combination of direct fundraising and political action committee (PAC) money pouring in to try and sway the public’s opinion.
Polls in the weeks prior to the election varied on the race, with some showing it a statistical tie, while others had Graham up by several points.
Graham, 65, now will get his fourth term in the Senate, and extends his 26-year-long career in Congress. That time includes time in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Harrison, 44, is the former South Carolina Democratic Party Chair who’s worked as a lobbyist.
Graham has become one of the most powerful senators in Congress, sitting on the Armed Services Committee and chairing the Senate Judiciary Committee. At first a critic of President Donald Trump, he’s become one of the president’s staunchest allies, which helped boost his standing among conservatives in the state.
To win, Harrison would have had to buck some powerful trends in state politics: no Democrat has won a statewide election in South Carolina since 2006, and the late time a Democrat won a U.S. Senate seat was back in 1998, when Fritz Hollings earned his last term in office to cap a long political career.
But Harrison mounted a surprising campaign that drew national attention, has he attacked Graham for that very closeness to the president. Videos of the candidates’ televised debates have drawn combined over 1 million YouTube views.
Harrison had chastised Graham’s stance on healthcare, painting him as someone who wants to do away with the Affordable Care Act’s protections and leave people without plans. Graham, meanwhile, shot back by saying Harrison is a liberal Democrat aligned with Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer and out of step with voters in the state who would vote to pack the Supreme Court with Democratic justices in retribution for the recent appointment of Amy Coney Barrett to the high court.
The two were scheduled for three debates. The first went off without a hitch, but the second was changed after Harrison demanded that Graham take a COVID-19 test before the debate.
Graham did not, and the affair was hastily changed to a format where the debate moderators asked each candidates questions separately for 30 minutes.