COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina voters can start casting ballots in person on Monday, Oct. 19, and recent polls show the U.S. Senate contest between Republican Sen. Darline Graham and Democrat Annie Andrews closer than the state’s voting history would suggest.
Rasmussen Reports put Graham ahead 49% to 45% in a survey of 837 likely voters taken Oct. 5-8, with 6% undecided and a margin of error of 3 points. The same pollster had her up 48% to 43% in early September. An InsiderAdvantage poll from Sept. 28-29 found an even tighter race, Graham 46% and Andrews 45%, inside its 2.8-point margin of error.
The Rasmussen numbers show a sharp gender and age split. Graham leads men 51% to 42%, while women are evenly divided at 47% each. Andrews holds a 58% to 34% edge among voters under 30, and most voters 50 and older back Graham. Among voters who belong to neither major party, Andrews leads 49% to 31%, and one in five are still undecided.
Graham is running to keep the seat her brother, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, held until he died in July. Gov. Henry McMaster appointed her to serve out the rest of the term, which ends in January, and she is on the ballot for the full six-year term. South Carolina has not sent a Democrat to the Senate since Fritz Hollings retired, and this seat has been in Republican hands since 1964, when Strom Thurmond switched parties.
The early in-person window stays open until Oct. 31, and polls open for Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
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