Danielle Vinson comments on Graham’s win in Republican Senate runoff

In Courthouse News Service, Furman University’s Danielle Vinson reflected on the Aug. 25 Republican Senate runoff between U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman and Darline Graham, sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham. Despite Graham’s lack of experience in public office, she won the race and will appear on the ballot this November with Democrat Annie Andrews, a Charleston pediatrician.

Vinson, a Furman alum and professor of politics and international affairs, told reporter Steve Garrison that Andrews would have faced a tough campaign against incumbent Lindsey Graham, but conceded that Darline Graham lacks experience and hasn’t been the target of intense scrutiny. “It’s still an uphill fight,” Vinson said. “It’s still a Republican state. But [Andrews has] an opponent that is less well-known and not at all campaign tested, so there is more room for mistakes.”