A rift among South Carolina Republicans is deepening a week before the general election, after Rep. Ralph Norman accused President Donald Trump of trying to impose his chosen Senate candidate on the state's voters.
Norman lost the runoff for the Republican Senate nomination to Sen. Darline Graham earlier this year. On Tuesday, he told Fox News Digital that he does not plan to help her in the final days of the campaign. In a text message written in all capital letters, he said voters in the state are not accepting the argument that everyone must "settle" for a candidate backed by special interest groups and by a Republican president spending millions of dollars on what he called false narratives about her qualifications.
Norman said the general election is about attempts to "force" a candidate on South Carolinians, and that the outcome aside, it did not have to be this way. He said the people of the state deserve "better!!" He closed his message with a short line: "Elections have consequences."
The criticism is aimed squarely at the head of the party, with voters set to decide who controls Congress for the last two years of Trump's presidency. Graham was appointed to fill the seat of her brother, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, and is running a tighter race than expected in a state that favors Republicans.
Norman said he will not campaign with or for Graham no matter who asks. He told Fox News Digital that her campaign manager approached his chief of staff about appearing together, and that he declined. Fellow South Carolina Republican Rep. Russell Fry has urged him to reconsider. According to Politico, Fry told reporters this week that Norman, having carried the conservative banner for so long, "should step into the arena." Fry also lost his own bid for the nomination for the late senator's seat.
National Republicans insist the party is united. RNC spokeswoman Emma Hall told Fox News Digital that Republicans are unified on beating Democrat Annie Andrews, adding that "Democrats' socialism has no place in South Carolina." She said that is why Trump supports Graham.
Norman's bitter primary loss to the political novice came in August. Since then, Trump has returned to the state to back Graham, holding a rally in Clemson last week. Forecasters see a more competitive contest: the nonpartisan Cook Political Report moved the race from "Likely Republican" to "Lean Republican" last week. The Senate Leadership Fund, a political action committee closely aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, pledged $5 million in ad spending in the state earlier this month.
Other prominent figures are also drifting away. Former Gov. David Beasley, a Republican, and former Gov. Jim Hodges, a Democrat, are reportedly supporting Andrews. Norman's son, Warren, wrote in a FITS News op-ed last week that he would "not be voting" for Graham and was leaning toward Andrews, which he said would be the first time he had voted for a Democrat in a partisan election. He wrote that there is "no true conservative to vote for in this election." Ralph Norman had earlier told "The Nashional Briefing with Kelly Nash" that he would vote for Graham, but that his family would not.
The White House, asked for comment on Tuesday, pointed Fox News Digital to Trump's remarks at the Clemson rally. Trump told the crowd, "You must vote for Darline and Republicans," and called Graham a "High-quality person" who "is going to be great." Fox News Digital also asked Graham's campaign for comment.
