Early voting begins to pick the Republican nominee for US Senate
Aug 05, 2026 | 8:30 am ET
Description
A voter leaves a precinct in Columbia, South Carolina, wearing an "I voted today" sticker after voting in the June 23, 2026, primary runoffs. (Seanna Adcox/SC Daily Gazette)
COLUMBIA — Early voting in South Carolina is underway for the Aug. 11 special GOP primary that will decide who replaces the late Lindsey Graham on November ballots.
Early voting centers are open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Friday.
Ten candidates are on the ballot, as of Wednesday morning, after the state Election Commission complied with a judge’s order to add Danny Ford II to the list. However, it’s unclear whether he’ll remain on the ballot. The state GOP appealed Tuesday to the South Carolina Supreme Court.
Graham’s unexpected death July 11 triggered the special election’s timeline.
Most counties have just one early voting location open. By law, counties could open up to seven. But no county is doing that for the special election.
Lexington County, home to Sen. Darline Graham, has the most options with six locations. Beaufort and Georgetown counties each have four locations. Calhoun, Dorchester and Horry counties have three. Darlington, Lancaster, Richland and York each have two options. Voters can go to whatever early voting location is convenient for them within the county where they’re registered. For a county-by-county list of locations, click here.
On Tuesday, polls will open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The candidates (in alphabetical order):
- Walterboro attorney Duke Buckner
- Upstate farmer Danny Ford II
- U.S. Rep. Russell Fry, who represents the 7th Congressional District
- U.S. Sen. Darline Graham, sister of the late Lindsey Graham
- Greenville businessman Mark Lynch
- former Myrtle Beach Mayor Mark McBride
- U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, who represents the 5th Congressional District
- retired Air Force reservist and Department of Defense budget analyst Glenda Gail Parker
- former congressman and Gov. Mark Sanford
- Lexington County scientist and inventor Sam Shepherd
South Carolinians who voted in the June 9 Democratic primary and/or the June 23 Democratic runoff can’t vote in the special GOP primary. The state Election Commission ruled it’s the same election cycle. Voters can participate if they voted in the Republican contests in June or didn’t vote in either party’s primary.
If no candidate gets more than 50% of the primary votes, the top two vote-getters will advance to an Aug. 25 runoff.
Columbia
