Republicans Blame Trump After Democrat Flips South Carolina Senate Seat

The backlash erupted in South Carolina, where Republican veterans watched the president intervene in a Senate race and lose it anyway. Nathan Leupp, 46, a former Greenville County Republican Party chairman, told The Wall Street Journal that Trump's endorsement of political newcomer Darline Graham cost the GOP a seat that should have held. “I fully believe that South Carolina would have been the only red wall for that blue wave except for Lindsey Graham's passing and President Trump personally punching holes through our red wall by selecting our nominee,” he said.

Greenville County, a conservative bastion Trump carried by 22 points in 2024, swung to Democrat Annie Andrews last week. She took 49.8 percent of the vote against Graham's 47.5 percent. The win delivered Democrats their first Senate victory in South Carolina since 1998.

Trump threw his weight behind Graham, the younger sister of longtime Sen. Lindsey Graham, after her brother died in July, despite concerns inside the party about her lack of political experience. She beat Republican Rep. Ralph Norman in an August primary runoff, then walked into a general election against a far better-funded opponent: Andrews raised around $24 million to Graham's $2 million, according to the Journal, and campaigned on the cost of living and healthcare. She also picked up endorsements from former Republican Gov. David Beasley and former Democratic Gov. Jim Hodges.

Trump traveled to South Carolina three times to campaign for Graham and still couldn't stop the loss. According to the Daily Beast, he appeared stunned when told the result during an election-night interview. Trey Walker, 59, a veteran Republican strategist and longtime chief of staff to Gov. Henry McMaster, summed up the mood for the Journal: “Quite frankly, I think we got the a**-kicking we needed.”

The anger runs deep enough that some conservatives are blaming more than one candidate choice. Randy Page, 59, a veteran activist with ties to Bob Jones University, told the Journal that male students were angry over Trump's war with Iran, while female students objected to his vulgar behavior. Steve Pettit, 70, a former president of the university, said: “To me, what happened on Tuesday was really a response to the president.”

Beasley said Trump's reshaping of the GOP left him unable to recognize the party he once helped lead. “That party we built?” he told the Journal. “That party doesn't exist anymore.” The Daily Beast has contacted the Republican National Committee for comment. The Journal also reports that MAGA activists had already ousted local party veterans, including Leupp, in a bitter fight for control of the Greenville GOP.