McMaster taps Graham's sister as interim senator

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster has appointed Darline Graham Nordone, the sister of the late South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, as interim U.S. Senator following his unexpected death Sunday.

As to who will fill the empty Republican slot on the national midterm ballots to face Democrat nominee Dr. Annie Andrews in November, a special primary must be held no later than Aug. 11, according to state election laws.

Candidates can file to be on the special primary ballot beginning July 21 through July 28.

If no one gets 50% of the vote, a runoff would be held Aug. 25. As of this report, no one has officially declared their candidacy for the position, but the list of contenders is long.

The South Carolina Election Commission is ironing out who will be eligible to vote in the Aug. 11 special primary. Because South Carolina doesn’t require voters to declare party affiliations, there appears to be some confusion whether or not the special primary will be limited to voters who participated in the recent June primary and selected GOP candidates, or open to all registered voters.