Republicans scramble to find replacement for Sen. Lindsey Graham ahead of midterm elections

Republicans are beginning to scramble to find a temporary and permanent replacement for Graham, who won South Carolina’s Republican Senate primary in June and was up for re-election to a fifth term in November.

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Hours after the death of Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, President Donald Trump said Sunday that he had a preferred replacement in mind, but declined to share his name out of respect for Graham.

“I have someone who I think would be great, but I don’t want to say it right now because it’s just, you know, it’s too early with Lindsey,” the president told NBC News’ “Meet the Press.” “I don’t even want to talk about anyone, but I have someone that I think is really good.”

Per South Carolina state law, Republican Gov. Henry McMaster must appoint someone to take over Graham’s position until early January.

The law also dictates the election process to permanently replace Graham. A special Republican primary election will be held on August 11, and candidates who wish to run will be able to run for the seat starting July 21.

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., who served alongside Graham, said Sunday he had no idea who McMaster might nominate to fill the seat.

“I know there are at least one or two members of Congress that I would expect Henry McMaster, our governor, to consider,” Scott told “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker, later adding that it’s “hard to swallow that life moves so fast and the party never stops.”

Scott said regardless of who McMaster chooses as his temporary appointment, “I imagine an open primary process would be in the best interest of South Carolinians.”

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster must appoint someone to fill Sen. Lindsey Graham’s term through January, according to state law. File Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., is strongly considering running for the now-vacant seat, according to a source familiar with her thinking. Mace unsuccessfully ran for governor in the state’s June primary.

Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., publicly said he would not run for the seat in an article on X today, citing a conversation he had with the president and the slim Republican majority in the House.

“I was grateful to speak with President Trump today as I reminisced about our mutual friend, Senator Lindsey Graham. I assured him that my goal was to remain in the House to maintain his two-vote majority for the American people!!!” Wilson wrote on social media.

Another potential candidate is Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, who just ran for governor and lost in a runoff.

A source close to Evette told NBC News that while she and those close to her were still “shocked” by the news of Graham’s death, Evette received “dozens of phone calls and text messages” on Sunday encouraging her to enter the Senate race.

The president endorsed Evette in the gubernatorial race in May, but it was unclear whether she would be his choice for the now-open Senate race. The source close to the lieutenant governor said many of the calls and messages she received came from “organizations involved in politics at the federal level.”

In a statement, Mark Lynch, a South Carolina businessman who challenged Graham in the Republican Senate primary earlier this year, did not say whether he planned to run again.

“Even though we have had policy disagreements, today is not a day for politics,” Lynch said. “It is a day to recognize his decades of service and to pray for all who knew and loved him.”

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