Russell Fry

COLUMBIA — U.S. Rep. Russell Fry endorsed former rival U.S. Sen. Darline Graham ahead of the Aug. 25 runoff in the GOP Senate primary, giving Graham the support of the campaign’s third-place finisher who carried much of the Pee Dee and Grand Strand.

Fry’s backing, announced Aug. 14, comes after some other South Carolina politicians endorsed by President Donald Trump fell in line behind Graham, including Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and GOP Commissioner of Agriculture nominee Cody Simpson.

“President Trump needs fighters and allies in the Senate who will show up every day and get results. I believe Darline Graham will be exactly that,” Fry said in a press release.

Trump, who urged Graham to run for a full term after she was appointed to replace her late brother, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, after his sudden death last month, had reportedly called Fry after the primary as he worked to secure support for Darline Graham.

She said in a statement that she was “honored” to get Fry’s support.

“His love for our state was apparent throughout his campaign,” Graham said. “Considering the respect that the Pee Dee has for Russell and his team, I am excited to continue building a conservative force to fight for President Trump’s America First agenda.”

The two candidates had clashed in the first part of the primary, with Fry attacking her record running the S.C. Commission for the Blind and Washington fundraising.

Fry’s endorsement is a blow to U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, who finished second in the Aug. 11 primary and now faces Graham in the runoff.

He struggled to make inroads in Fry’s home territory of the Pee Dee and Myrtle Beach area during the sprint primary campaign, finishing fourth in some counties there while Graham consistently took second place behind Fry, whose support she now hopes to inherit.

Some reporting has suggested Trump is considering holding a rally for Graham in the area to shore up that support, but her campaign has played down the possibility. Graham told reporters on primary night that she hoped he would come to South Carolina.

"We would love to have him," Abby Zilch, a spokesperson for Graham said. "If the president would like to come to South Carolina, we would love to have him, but nothing is confirmed yet."

Norman’s support has been strongest in the conservative Upstate and the Rock Hill area, the latter of which he has represented in Congress since 2017. He has since won the endorsement of hardline businessman Mark Lynch, who finished fifth in the primary but did well in the Upstate, as Norman works to consolidate the right wing of the party.

His campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Attorney General Alan Wilson, who received a key endorsement from Norman before winning the Republican nomination for governor, has declined to weigh in on the Senate primary. He was also endorsed by Trump in the gubernatorial contest after it became clear he would beat Evette in that race’s runoff.

Former Gov. Mark Sanford, who finished fourth in the Senate primary, also hasn’t backed anyone in the runoff.

Fry’s endorsement comes amid a broader coalescence of Republican donor networks behind Graham, who relied heavily on funding from the Beltway campaign finance machine as she competed with Norman and Fry for in-state donors ahead of the Aug. 11 primaries.

Norman has had some success expanding his donor pool ahead of the runoff, including figures like barbecue magnate and former Sanford deputy chief of staff Chad Walldorf, a close ally of former governor and Norman supporter Nikki Haley whose Stand For America PAC is backing Norman.

But Graham has quickly become the candidate institutional donors are aligning behind, with several top South Carolina donors appearing in federal campaign finance reports alongside major corporations like Boeing.