Dr. Annie Andrews, a pediatrician who lost a closely watched U.S. House race to U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace in 2022 and has since built a sizable social media following, jumped into South Carolina's U.S. Senate race with a blistering opening salvo against Republican incumbent Lindsey Graham.
Her campaign began with a May 29 announcement video where she appears in a white medical coat and delivers a scathing diagnosis, calling Graham an adult who is "completely and unequivocally full of (expletive)."
The video is followed by a montage of clips showing the GOP senator first criticizing, then praising, President Donald Trump.
"It's embarrassing," Andrews says in the video where she is later seen banging her head against a table in frustration over Graham’s confirmation votes for Trump administration nominees. "And South Carolina deserves better."
The Mount Pleasant mother of three is the fourth Democrat to join a growing field of contenders vying to defy long odds in ruby-red South Carolina.
No Democrat has won a statewide race in the Palmetto State since 2006, and Graham, who has held his Senate seat since 2003, has proven resilient in past elections.
In 2020, S.C. Democrats saw their hopes crushed when Graham decisively defeated Jaime Harrison, despite Harrison’s record-breaking fundraising efforts.
Dr. Annie Andrews
In an interview with The Post and Courier, Andrews said she was not afraid of a fight. She cast Graham as a career politician who has been in office for 22 years — half of her lifetime — and framed her Senate campaign as a challenge to the hypocrisy that she says has come to define Washington and, by extension, Graham himself.
"He is a completely different person than when he first got elected," Andrews said. "He has very publicly changed his position on nearly every issue over that time period, and very recently said, frankly and proudly, that he doesn't even need to hold town halls. He doesn't need to hear from South Carolinians, because he is just going to do whatever the current administration tells him to do. And South Carolina deserves so much better than that."
Graham’s campaign fired back within hours.
In a statement to The Post and Courier, Graham's campaign manager Mark Knoop defended the senator's record, saying "The more effective you are in helping enact President Trump’s agenda, the more Democrats want to take you down."
He continued, "While Dr. Andrews pushes a radical liberal agenda that is out of touch with South Carolina, Sen. Graham has always stood firm for conservative values — cutting taxes, securing the border, protecting the right to life, defending the 2nd Amendment and confirming conservative judges to protect our freedoms."
Andrews has pledged to serve no more than two terms if elected and said she will not accept contributions from corporate political action committees — a promise she also made during her first campaign in 2022.
That year, she challenged Mace in the Charleston-area's 1st Congressional District, centering her campaign on gun control and children’s health. Although she lost by double digits in the Republican-leaning district, Andrews gained national attention and built a devoted social media following that she has continued to grow.
She launched a national political advocacy group of her own, which was aimed at resetting the political conversation in Washington by prioritizing issues that acutely affect children. The website for the PAC — called "Their Future. Our Vote." — is no longer functional.
Andrews confirmed it has paused operations but could restart, with different leadership, during the current election cycle.
The three other Democrats who have declared early bids against Graham include Lee Johnson, an engineer in Greenville, and Kyle Freeman and Catherine Fleming Bruce, both of Columbia. Bruce unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic nomination in the 2022 race to face U.S. Sen. Tim Scott.
Graham has also drawn a GOP primary challenger in Mark Lynch, a Greenville business owner and one-time Statehouse candidate.
The race is not considered competitive in 2026. Republicans have held both of the state's Senate seats since 2005.
This story has been updated to include comments from Sen. Lindsey Graham's campaign.
