South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster chooses the late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s sister Darline Graham Nordone to fill his seat.
From WIS News 10:
Under South Carolina law, the governor is allowed to appoint a replacement to fill out the remainder of Graham’s term – which was set to expire in January.Graham was also running for re-election at the time of his death.A special primary will be held in August to determine who faces Democratic nominee Annie Andrews in the November general election.
President Donald Trump recommended McMaster pick Darline.
“I recommended, to Governor Henry McMaster, Lindsey Graham’s wonderful sister, Darline, to serve as interim Senator from the Great State of South Carolina,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “This would be a fabulous tribute to Lindsey, who loved her dearly!”
Lindsey and Darline lost both parents within 15 months of each other. Darline became an orphan at 13, while Lindsey was 22.
Lindsey immediately took in Darline. He adopted Darline so she could access his military benefits since he was a member of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps:
After the deaths of their parents, Ms. Nordone moved in with an aunt and uncle as Mr. Graham continued his studies at the University of South Carolina. While other students would stay on campus having fun on the weekends, she once recalled, Mr. Graham would travel back to care for her.He enlisted in the Air Force and became his sister’s legal guardian, allowing her to qualify for his military benefits. She credited him for making sure she finished high school and went to college.Ms. Nordone went on to become a mother of two who worked to help people with disabilities find jobs. Mr. Graham took particular pride in her success.“Of all the things that have happened in my life, her turning out so well is the highlight of it by far,” he told C-SPAN in 2015.
But Lindsey and Darline were always close:
The two grew up in a small room behind the Sanitary Cafe, an establishment on Main Street in Central, S.C., that their parents operated as a bar, liquor store and pool hall. Ms. Nordone recalled that even when their parents were alive, she ran to her brother when she was sick or needed help with homework. He taught her how to ride a bicycle, pushing it and then running beside shouting encouragement. He cared for her when she fell.“He’s kind of like a brother, a father and a mother rolled into one,” she said in a 2015 interview with The New York Times. Ms. Nordone declined an interview Sunday, saying the loss of her brother, who died Saturday after what his office described as a “brief and sudden illness,” was still too raw.
My heart breaks for the entire family, but especially Darline.
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