President Trump’s inexplicable decision to propose the late Senator Lindsey Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, as his replacement left conservatives in a quandary. Should we go along with the President’s choice, not really knowing anything about Ms. Nordone, or should we back Congressman Ralph Norman, a known quantity and a principled limited government constitutional conservative?
It turns out recent debates and media appearances have demonstrated there wasn’t really any question, the conservative choice in the race is our longtime friend, Rep. Ralph Norman.
Senator Darline Graham Nordone’s ambivalence on the basic conservative principle of the right-to-life isn’t the only reason for conservatives to question her reliability on the conservative agenda.
Asked during a recent debate whether Taiwan and the South China Sea are relevant national security priorities, Graham responded: “I’m just going to be honest here … I’m not that informed on national security, so.” She added that “national security is not my thing, not my area of expertise, but I do support the military.”
The reaction to that admission was indicative of the larger feeling among conservatives.
Norman supporter and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley wrote in a post on X that foreign policy experience is “not something you inherit” — a swipe at Graham’s appointment to fulfill her brother’s current term, reported POLITICO. Ken Cuccinelli, a former Trump administration official, expressed support for Norman, writing that Graham has “worked hard to hide any firm positions, and here she is at least being honest.”
“It was shocking how we’re gonna give someone who was on stage last night six years in the U.S. Senate, and I think that’s the overall impression people are having today” said one South Carolina-based Republican operative who has stayed neutral in the Senate race and was granted anonymity by POLITICO to speak candidly. “One of these two is gonna get six years in the Senate? Like, big hanging question mark.”
“It very much confirmed many of our suspicions that while she might be a very nice lady, she is woefully underprepared or unprepared to be one of the 100 U.S. Senators in the Senate,” state Rep. Jordan Pace, who is supporting Norman in the runoff, said in an interview quoted by POLITICO.
We also have concerns about who is behind Senator Darline Graham Nordone's campaign. Who you walk with tells us much about who you are, and many of her supporters are decidedly not conservative.
A group called the Invest in Tomorrow Coalition says it is investing $1 million to defeat Ralph Norman in the upcoming Senate runoff against Darline Graham Nordone.
This is a left-leaning, clean-energy-funded Super PAC that operates independently of the Democratic Party and has a history of intervening in Republican primaries.
Why are left-leaning, clean-energy interests pouring money into a Republican primary to help Darline Graham Nordone?
Some Graham Nordone supporters have accused Ralph Norman of being a “stumbling block” for the President and his agenda, but the record says otherwise. Ralph Norman votes with the President more on a percentage basis than anyone in the South Carolina congressional delegation.
Congressman Ralph Norman is a conservative warrior who’s spent his career fighting for the taxpayers, families, and conservative values of South Carolina, and he has a record that proves it.
At the end of the day South Carolina’s conservative voters have to answer one question and one question only: “Does Darline Graham Nordone have any qualifications at all to be a United States Senator other than the fact she’s Lindsey Graham’s sister?” Clearly the answer is NO, and we urge South Carolinians to vote for proven limited government constitutional conservative all-star Ralph Norman for United States Senate in the upcoming South Carolina runoff.
