'I have my own way': Lindsey Graham's sister signals different path in Senate

WASHINGTON, DC: Days after being appointed as a temporary replacement for her brother, the late Sen Lindsey Graham, Darline Graham Nordone signaled on Sunday, July 19, that she would be going her own way during her tenure as a South Carolina senator.

In an X post shared on Sunday, Nordone expressed her gratitude to all who stood with Graham on behalf of her family and the late senator’s staff, and clarified that she has her “own way of doing things.”

Darline Graham Nordone signals different Senate approach

Darline Graham Nordone appears to be signaling that she’ll take a different approach from her brother, Lindsey Graham, after succeeding him in the Senate.

“Lindsey was my rock and my hero. He was always there for me, just like he was for many of you,” Nordone wrote on X following Graham’s death.

“If I could trade this moment and have Lindsey back, I would do so in a heartbeat. But I can’t,” she said.

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham died of a sudden illness on Saturday evening, July 11.

Darline Nordone honors brother while charting separate path

As she continued in a release shared on her X platform, Darline Graham Nordone said that it was her time to step up for South Carolina as her brother stepped up for her when their parents died.

Despite writing that Graham “accomplished so much” and had “so many big ideas that he was determined to see through,” Nordone suggested that she would lead differently.

“Yet I am not Lindsey. I have my own way of doing things,” Nordone added.

“But we were raised with the same values: work hard each day, trust in the Lord, remember your roots, and never forget who you work for,” she added.

Darline Graham Nordone appointed as interim senator

Darline Graham Nordone was appointed to temporarily fill her brother’s vacant seat by South Carolina Gov Henry McMaster on July 13, with Trump publicly encouraging her to run for a full Senate term.

President Donald Trump said he has recommended that South Carolina Gov Henry McMaster appoint Sen Lindsey Graham's sister, Darline Graham Nordone, as the state's interim US senator.

“I recommended, to Governor Henry McMaster, Lindsey Graham’s wonderful sister, Darline, to serve as interim Senator from the Great State of South Carolina,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on July 13.

The president described Nordone as a “spectacular person, and a true American Patriot,” and revealed on Truth Social: “During her visit, I asked Darline, for the Good of our Nation, to run for the US Senate in the Special Republican Primary on Tuesday, August 11, 2026.”