Darline Graham Nordone, who was appointed last week to finish out the late Senator Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) term, had suddenly pivoted away from one of her brother’s signature pieces of policy that defined the late Senator.
Nordone now says that she will focus on domestic issues and not on foreign policy issues related to Ukraine and Iran. Both were focal points for Lindsey Graham.
Nordone, who indicated that she would seek a full term in her late brother’s Senate seat, told Fox News host Sean Hannity in an interview this week that she would advocate for similar positions as her brother, but also suggested she would have a different focus.
“I’ve thought, and I prayed,” Nordone told Hannity.
“He’s worked so hard for so long, I just, I can’t just let that die. I’ve got to step in and carry on his legacy. I know he cared about the people of South Carolina so deeply.”
Nordone agreed that, like her brother, she would like to see Congress pass the Russia sanctions for which Graham had advocated before he died.
“I really wanted to push those across the finish line,” Nordone said of the sanctions.
However, her deeper, more singular focus would be on domestic issues, especially those related to her fellow South Carolinians.
Nordone, who works on the South Carolina Commission for the Blind, also suggested that if elected in her own right, she would focus more on domestic issues than national security.
“I used to see him on the talk shows. I would watch him, and I’d be like, ‘Lindsey, are you just talking about national security all the time?,’” she said.
“And I understand that’s important. Protecting our borders, national security, absolutely.”
“I said, ‘But talk about also what matters to the average person. The price of groceries, the price of gas, health care. Insurance, those kinds of things.’ That’s what I’m worried about,” Nordone added.
Watch her entire interview with Hannity here —
Nordone said she was still reeling from her brother’s shocking death.
“I’m just taking it day by day. I am not gonna lie. It’s been tough, extremely tough. Lots of prayers, heartfelt messages from friends and family, colleagues really got me through this week,” she said.
“It was like I was living a nightmare when I got the unexpected news. I was just, I can even tell you how devastated I was when I got that call.”
She didn’t have much time to process her thoughts before she was asked to finish out her brother’s term — and then encouraged to run in the special primary.
The deadline to enter the race is July 28, and the special primary election is scheduled for August 11.
Her decision to run came after President Donald Trump gave her his preemptive endorsement.