Top Republican super PAC pledges $5 million for South Carolina Senate race

The Senate Leadership Fund is spending millions of dollars to support Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., in the South Carolina senate race.Sean Rayford / GettyShareAdd NBC News to GoogleOct. 6, 2026, 10:11 AM EDTBy Bridget Bowman and Rebecca ShabadThe top Republican super PAC involved in Senate races is planning to spend $5 million in South Carolina, a source familiar with the spending confirmed to NBC News on Tuesday.

The injection of funds from the Senate Leadership Fund, a group aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., is the latest sign that the race between GOP Sen. Darline Graham and Democratic pediatrician Annie Andrews is competitive. The outlay was first reported by Axios.

It comes as the Senate map is shifting further in Democrats’ favor, putting Republican-leaning states increasingly in play with less than a month remaining until Election Day.

Trump carried South Carolina by 18 points in 2024. The last Democrat elected to represent South Carolina in the Senate was Fritz Hollings, who served from 1966 until 2005.

The Graham and Andrews campaigns didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster appointed Graham to the seat soon after her late brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, died suddenly in July. Within days, Darline Graham announced she would run for a full six-year Senate term with the backing of President Donald Trump. Graham became the GOP Senate nominee after she defeated Rep. Ralph Norman in a primary runoff in August.

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The Senate race in solid red Kansas between GOP Sen. Roger Marshall and Democratic pastor Adam Hamilton also has tightened.

In response to that changing dynamic, the Senate Leadership Fund canceled its ad spending in North Carolina’s Senate race last week and launched a new ad campaign in Kansas.

Bridget BowmanBridget Bowman is a national political reporter for NBC News.

Rebecca ShabadRebecca Shabad is a politics reporter for NBC News based in Washington.