There is almost a year left before the U.S. Senate elections, but electoral races in some states seem to have already begun. A serious struggle is flaring up in South Carolina represented by Lindsey Graham since 2003. Republicans Mark Lynch and Paul Dans, as well as several Democrats including Annie Andrews and Brandon Brown, have already announced their campaigns opposing Graham. Taking into account that South Carolina is generally considered to be a Republican stronghold, Democrat chances are slim to none. The  confrontation will occur between the GOP candidates.

Lindsey Graham, who has been representing the state in the Senate for more than 20 years, is considered to be a rather formidable opponent. But his time in office is probably running out. Recent polls show that a growing number of his constituents believe that the senator is doing a poor job. Graham has lobbied in support of the endless war and increased spending for Ukraine for many years, along with turning a blind eye to the urgent domestic problems, disengaging himself from what is really important to the voters. Despite casting himself as a devout supporter of Trump and a MAGA loyalist, Graham is too willing to compromise with Democrats and even promotes some of their ideas within the Republican Party, which raises questions among his party fellows.

Republican Mark Lynch, a successful businessman, is the first to challenge Graham, referring to him as a RINO and criticizing him for “massive fraud, waste and abuse with his pet project at USAID,” as well as for the refusal to fully fund the border wall when Republicans controlled both houses of Congress in 2017 and 2018. Lynch called the senator “a traitorous, back-stabbing flimsy flip flopper” who only pretends to put America first.

Republican Paul Dans, the author of Project 2025, is expected to seriously compete against Graham. Despite Donald Trump having disavowed Dans’s plan in 2024, many of the policy prescriptions described in the document have been undertaken by the President’s administration. Among all other initiatives, Trump has radically restructured the civil service and eliminated some programs and protections for LGBTQ+.

Paul Dans is determined to put an end to Graham’s time in office, calling him “a 70-year-old childless warmonger with no stake in the country’s future.” A key talking point for Dans is that the U.S. needs to stop engaging in endless wars and direct billions of dollars now allocated to warring countries’ support to solve problems at home.

Taking into account the challenges Lindsey Graham is facing, it will be quite difficult for him to stay for his jubilee term in the Senate. However, Graham has a whole year to set his face toward the people’s problems and review his political program to evade a ghastly failure at the U.S. Senate elections in 2026.

James Morantz is a South Carolina-based freelance journalist and author. He believes that politics must be transparent and understandable.

Image: Gage Skidmore