Democrat Annie Andrews is touting more than 100 Republican endorsements in her South Carolina Senate race against Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC), but a Washington Examiner review found that dozens of her purported GOP supporters have donated to Democrats or participated in Democratic primaries.
Nearly a third of the 101 people on a “Republicans for Dr. Annie” list have donated to only Democrats or pulled Democratic primary ballots in current or past elections, according to federal election records and internal GOP voter data reviewed by the Washington Examiner.
Some are not even registered to vote in the Palmetto State, and at least one is a former Republican who is now a self-proclaimed Democrat.
The prior support for Democrats appears to undercut the claim from Andrews’s campaign that the endorsees are Republicans ditching Graham, the interim senator seeking to replace her late brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, for a candidate from the opposing party.
The Andrews campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
The Graham campaign criticized the list as a “who’s who of completely unknown individuals.”
“While she can count 100 people for a press release, Sen. Graham is attracting support from many thousands of Democrats who no longer recognize their party and its embrace of radical liberal policies championed by Annie Andrews and the people she wants to put in power,” Graham spokesman T.W. Arrighi said in a statement.
The Senate GOP’s campaign arm accused Andrews of being “desperate” to disguise a liberal record and policy stances that Republicans say are misaligned with a traditionally conservative state.
“Annie Andrews is so desperate to rewrite her record that she is lying to South Carolinians once again,” Nick Puglia, a regional press secretary for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said in a statement. “But nothing Andrews says or does will change the fact that she’s a socialist lunatic.”
Andrews does have other endorsements from notable South Carolina Republicans, including Warren Norman, the son of Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC); former GOP Gov. David Beasley; and former GOP State Rep. Katrina Shealy. Norman, the congressman, lost to Graham in a special primary election.
South Carolina Democratic Senate nominee Annie Andrews participates in a get-out-the-vote rally with other Democratic nominees in the midterm elections Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, in Columbia, South Carolina. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard)
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South Carolina Democratic Senate nominee Annie Andrews participates in a get-out-the-vote rally with other Democratic nominees in the midterm elections Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, in Columbia, South Carolina. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard)
Andrews, a pediatrician, has made an appeal to Republicans in the conservative-leaning state who she will need if she is to have any shot at flipping what is a mostly safe seat for Graham. But it has become more competitive than expected as the GOP faces strong midterm headwinds across the country.
Of the 101 names on the “Republicans for Annie” list, at least 29 have donated to Democratic candidates or campaigns other than Andrews, including Texas Senate nominee James Talarico, Alaska Senate nominee Mary Peltola, former President Joe Biden, former Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic National Committee, the South Carolina Democratic Party, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), and Sens. Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who caucuses with Democrats.
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Nearly all of the names have pulled at least one Democratic ballot in current or prior election cycles, suggesting they have participated in the party’s primaries. South Carolina does not have registration by party, so voters may participate in either primary but not both.
The race “leans” in Graham’s favor, making it one of several contests that in recent months have shifted more toward Democrats as the party seeks to retake the upper chamber on Nov. 3.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
