|
August 25, 2026 
|
|
|
 |
| Darline Graham Sean Rayford/Getty Images |
Good evening! The polls have just closed in South Carolina, where a supersonic special election has become a big test of the power of President Trump’s endorsement.
Senator Darline Graham, who was appointed to temporarily fill the Senate seat left open by the sudden death of her brother, Lindsey Graham, in July, is running for a full six-year term with the president’s support. But her wobbly campaign — in which a gaffe on the debate stage highlighted her inexperience — has created an opening for the ultraconservative Representative Ralph Norman.
We’re also watching a runoff election in Oklahoma, where Mike Mazzei, a Trump-backed businessman and former state senator, is hoping to become the Republican nominee for governor. He’s facing the state’s attorney general, Gentner Drummond, who is suing to stop a $4 billion aluminum smelter project that Trump supports.
Follow the results below. I’ll be back with a special early edition of On Politics tomorrow.
— Jess Bidgood
