Judge orders state GOP to certify Danny Ford II for US Senate primary
Aug 04, 2026 | 11:54 am ET
Description
U.S. Senate candidate Danny Ford II speaks with his lawyers ahead of a Richland County court hearing Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, in which he asked the judge to put him on the ballot for the special Republican primary. The judge ruled Tuesday in his favor. (Photo by Jessica Holdman/SC Daily Gazette)
COLUMBIA — Danny Ford II will be on the Aug. 11 ballot for U.S. Senate following a judge’s ruling Tuesday requiring the state GOP to certify his candidacy in time for early voting.
Judge Daniel Coble gave the state Republican Party 24 hours to officially qualify Ford and ordered the state Election Commission to include his name on “all ballots feasible” for voting that starts Wednesday. The order rejected the party’s and election officials’ arguments that such late changes aren’t feasible for an election already underway.
Ford wasn’t asking for changes to the nearly 1,900 ballots that had already gone out to absentee voters and military members overseas.
“This means that the Court’s Order can be tailored to impose minimal impact on the election,” Coble wrote.
Ford’s addition means there will be 10 people competing in the special GOP primary to replace the late Lindsey Graham as the nominee on November general election ballots.
He was among three candidates decertified shortly after the filing deadline ended July 28. Ford and Darius Mitchell were deemed ineligible for failing to meet a new rule the party passed at the June convention requiring all candidates vote in two of the last three statewide GOP primaries.
Acknowledging that such a ruling requires extraordinary circumstances, Coble wrote, “Is this case not one of an extraordinary measure?”
The unexpected death of South Carolina’s senior senator, a recently passed GOP rule, a lack of clarity on its specifics, a fast-moving election, exceptions to federal law for military ballots that had to be made to accommodate a truncated timeline, and a candidate who was just on GOP primary ballots in June all combine to make the court’s mandatory intervention appropriate, he wrote.
The ruling applies only to Ford.
“Our constitution says everyone wo’s qualified should have a chance to vote and to run,” said Senate Minority Leader Brad Hutto, one of Ford’s attorneys. “This upholds Danny Ford’s right as a Republican to be on the ballot.”
A party spokesperson did not immediate return a request for comment.
Check back for details. This is a developing story.
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