By Jarrett Renshaw, Jacob Bogage and David Morgan
MYRTLE BEACH, South Carolina, Aug 21 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump campaigned on Friday for political novice Darline Graham in the race for her late brother's Senate seat, a contest that could test the White House's political clout before November's midterm elections.
Trump spoke at a South Carolina rally for Graham as she sought to recover from fumbling a basic foreign policy question in a debate against U.S. Representative Ralph Norman,
her opponent in Tuesday's primary runoff election.
Her brother, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a personal friend and political ally of Trump, died suddenly in July from a heart issue, forcing a snap election to fill the seat. Trump quickly endorsed his younger sister, to take his place. South Carolina's Republican Governor Henry McMaster appointed her to the Senate on a temporary basis.
Lindsey Graham was a foreign policy leader in the Republican Party, which made Darline Graham's stumble in response to a debate question on Tuesday about the U.S. alliance with Taiwan all the more striking.
"I'm just going to be honest here. I'm not that informed on national security," Graham replied to the astonishment of the debate audience.
"National security is not my thing," said Graham, whose career focused on services for the disabled.
TRUMP CALLS GRAHAM'S DEBATE PERFORMANCE 'HONEST'
Trump on Friday shrugged off her debate response, calling it a "very honest answer" before boarding Air Force One for his flight to the rally at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center.
"She's into the price of groceries, the price of food, the price of beef. It hasn't been her thing, but she's surrounded by very good people," Trump said at Joint Base Andrews. "She's going to do what the military wants, and, really, what the president wants."
Graham's response, though, threatened to reopen wounds within the Republican Party over Trump's rapid endorsement. And it could raise questions about the president's clout in November's midterms, when control of Congress is at stake, if conservatives reject his favored candidate.
"Lindsey Graham was well informed on the United States' national security. Darline Graham admits she's not. This is not something you inherit. And it's critical in the U.S. Senate," former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, a Norman supporter, said on X.
Graham defended her debate response in a later Fox News interview. "I don't speak politician. I was just honest. And I think that's kind of a foreign concept," she said, arguing that South Carolina voters are more concerned about the cost of living, transgender issues, gun rights and immigration.
Hundreds of supporters filled the convention center in the South Carolina beach community, many dressed in Trump's signature red hats, shirts and campaign gear.
Rebecca Stoltz, a 54-year-old teacher, said she drove two hours to attend the event and waited in line for several hours in the summer heat to secure a spot inside. Despite concerns raised by critics about Trump’s military conflict with Iran and persistent inflation, Stoltz said her support for the Republican president has not wavered.
“It’s a price we are paying to have a safe world,” Stoltz said.
Trump's party faces an increasingly difficult climate in November's elections, but South Carolina is unlikely to be a battleground. Trump won the state in 2024 by 18 percentage points, and both Graham and Norman cast themselves as the president's allies. Norman mounted an unsuccessful bid for governor, finishing third in the June primary.
Graham and Norman emerged from a Republican field of 10 candidates in a special Senate primary on August 11. Graham bested Norman 32.8% to 24.6% but fell well short of the clear majority needed to win the contest outright.
The runoff campaign has revolved around which candidate hews closest to Trump's agenda.
"Darline Graham supports President Donald J. Trump every day on every major issue," said Tim Scott, South Carolina's other Republican senator, at the rally.
(Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw, Jacob Bogage and David Morgan; editing by Trevor Hunnicutt, Alistair Bell and Cynthia Osterman)
