(Adnkronos) – The Republican primary runoff for the Senate seat that belonged to Lindsey Graham, taking place today in South Carolina, is considered an important test for Donald Trump ahead of the November elections. The president has indeed invested a significant amount of time, political weight, and also money to secure the victory of Darline Graham, the sister of the senator who passed away in July, completely new to politics, even by her own admission, over the more experienced Ralph Norman, a congressman representing the most conservative faction and also a point of reference for Trump’s electoral base.
Trump has done much more for Senator Graham, who was appointed to the seat left by her brother until January, than he is doing for long-serving senators facing difficult re-election campaigns in November. Not only did he hold a rally with her last weekend, but in the final hours of the campaign, he also allocated $400,000 from his Maga Inc super Pac for calls and texts to persuade voters to vote for Graham, who has been at the center of controversy for days for candidly admitting she doesn’t know much about national security. In total, the super Pac of the movement led by Trump has spent over $800,000 for Graham.
“If Darline doesn’t make it, it would truly be a huge embarrassment for the White House and the president,” says Matthew Bartlett, a Republican strategist who served in the first Trump administration. Also because in recent weeks he has already suffered several defeats of candidates who had his endorsement. On the contrary, her victory would confirm the influence and charisma of a president capable of projecting an unknown candidate without political experience into the Senate, concludes Politico.
