Republicans make plea for unity following ‘hurt feelings’ in US Senate contest

MYRTLE BEACH — At a GOP-energizing event where a long list of Republican nominees took the stage to make their pitch, the underlying theme was a plea for unity in the unexpectedly tight U.S. Senate race.

The third annual Freedom Fry, a title that’s a nod to the host — U.S. Rep. Russell Fry — serves as a fundraiser for the 7th District congressman and get-out-the-vote pep rally for the party faithful.

This year’s event, two months after a special GOP primary for a coveted spot on the ballot, took on the additional mission of bringing together Republicans still upset over the whirlwind race to replace the late U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham as the nominee. Less than a month after his funeral, his younger sister, Darline Graham emerged as the winner of a 10-way contest, aided by the endorsement of President Donald Trump.

According to polls, she’s in a close battle with Democrat Annie Andrews for the next six-year term.

That’s at least partly due to intra-party GOP feuding. The son of U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, who lost to Graham in the runoff Aug. 25, has publicly endorsed Andrews. Norman himself is refusing to help Graham. And some of Norman’s supporters are encouraging voters to write his name on the ballot. Norman indicated on the night he lost that he’s upset Trump ever got involved.

Attorney General Alan Wilson, the GOP nominee for governor, used part of his allotted time Monday night to address the “hurt feelings” and urge Republicans to vote for Graham.

“I’m just going to say it out loud. It’s the unspoken truth. But here’s the reality we have: this is the only option,” Wilson said after campaigning with Graham elsewhere in Myrtle Beach.

He was addressing about 400 people who paid at least $50 a ticket to hear from candidates at the Hilton Myrtle Beach Resort and eat from the “fry bar.”

“Here’s the thing: Not voting for Darline Graham or voting for Annie Andrews and standing on that election” could put Democrats in control of the U.S. Senate, he said. “You may not intend for that to be the case, but I’m telling you folks,” he continued, that’s “so much greater than the petty differences that we squabble about in our primaries.”

Over the course of two hours, Republicans who took the stage included South Carolina’s GOP nominees for statewide and congressional offices, as well as Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

Fry, the primary’s third-place finisher, also spent part of his time to talk up Graham.

“The mission is more important than the personalities, and that’s why everybody needs to get out there and support Darline Graham,” said Fry, who faces Democrat John Vincent on the ballot.

Fry was widely expected to seek the nomination before Trump encouraged Graham to run.

Rumblings over what would happen if Fry ran and won — making him the GOP nominee for both U.S. Senate and the 7th Congressional District — led to the state Election Commission issuing a statement making clear that it is legal in South Carolina for candidates to run for multiple offices simultaneously. Next steps were being discussed: A legislator in the state House was publicly considering running to replace Fry in the U.S. House.

Ultimately, Fry and Norman, who was coming off an unsuccessful run for governor, announced their bids for U.S. Senate after Trump stunned the field by encouraging Graham to run.

After losing, Fry endorsed Graham ahead of the runoff and has appeared with her on stage since, to include introducing her at his event.

At the Freedom Fry, Cruz applauded Fry for quickly backing her.

“You ran against Darline in a vigorous contest. You didn’t prevail. And you know what? It would be easy to take your ball and go home, and it would be easy to get mad,” said the Texas senator, who’s considered a potential 2028 presidential contender. “You didn’t do that. … We all need to all unify.”

Earlier Monday, the Republican National Committee announced that Trump will return Thursday to rally in South Carolina for the second time in two weeks — this time in Norman’s hometown of Rock Hill.

Fry urged Norman, who did not attend the Freedom Fry, to “step into the sunlight a little bit to help his Republican nominee.”

“As somebody who carried the conservative banner as long as he has, he should step into the arena,” Fry told reporters, referring to the congressman first elected to the state House in 2006. “He didn’t win. I didn’t win either.”

But Norman doubled down on his refusal, telling CNN after the event that the election is “about attempts to ‘force’ a candidate on the voters.”

As he did in a radio interview last week, Norman again suggested the race against Andrews wouldn’t be tight if he’d won the nomination.

“Regardless of the outcome, it didn’t have to be this way as the great people living in South Carolina deserve ‘better!’ Bottom line!! Elections have consequences!!” he wrote in a text to the reporter. As for his son’s op-ed, he wrote, “Warren is EXACTLY RIGHT in his statement!!! My entire family is NOT SUPPORTING her candidacy.”

Norman’s tenure in Congress ends in January, since he chose to run for governor instead of re-election. He placed third in the June primary.

State Sen. Wes Climer, who faces Democrat Mallory Dittmer on the ballot, was among speakers at the Freedom Fry.

Without directly addressing the GOP feuding, he urged attendees to go vote and take friends with them.

“I know that y’all know some friends from church, from work, from the neighborhoods, some good lifelong Republicans who might get a little extra motivation this year,” said Climer, who also lives in Rock Hill. “Right, so just remind them, elections are about choices, and elections have consequences.”

State GOP Chair Drew McKissick acknowledged the party division as due to the special primary but attributed it to the later-than-normal contest: August instead of June. He indicated there’s still time to unify.

“You have a time span after a primary is over, working to put everything back together again and getting everybody on board and so forth,” he told the SC Daily Gazette. “So we’re in the process of that, and it’s been coming along.”

Trump’s repeated rallies in South Carolina ahead of the general election are unprecedented.

McKissick indicated he’s not worried, despite the polls showing Republicans in trouble in traditional Republican strongholds. Other states Trump’s visiting this week alone include Texas, Ohio, Florida, Kansas and Iowa. Last week, his stops included North Carolina, Iowa and Georgia.

“You are always happy to have the time of the campaigner in chief,” McKissick said. “If he thinks he’s got extra time to come in and make a swing, fine. That helps everybody up and down the team.”

Early voting runs through Saturday. Election Day is Nov. 3.