GOP group takes swing at Graham’s challengers in U.S. Senate race. Why?

A Republican party committee wants two GOP U.S. Senate candidates investigated for allegedly failing to comply with a minor campaign finance law. It’s an effort some election law experts argue is intended to keep incumbents in power.

Project 2025 writer Paul Dans and Upstate businessman Mark Lynch were both subjects of letters recently sent to the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics. In letters to the ethics committee, the National Republican Senate Committee, chaired by South Carolina U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, argued that Dans and Lynch likely failed to file a required personal finance disclosure on time.

Both candidates are competing for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate against longtime incumbent U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham.

It’s not uncommon for a party group, like the GOP Senate committee, to knock challengers early in a campaign, said Conor Dowling, a political science professor at the University at Buffalo.

“This is the party apparatus, in some ways, helping to try to make sure the incumbent is protected or has an extra layer of protection,” Dowling said. “And that’s not uncommon.”

The GOP Senate committee called for the investigations last week, Sept. 9 and Sept. 11. In both letters, Dans and Lynch are described as having a “competitive advantage” over candidates that comply with federal law.

Reports for Dans and Lynch do not show up on the U.S. Senate financial disclosure database as of Thursday afternoon. The Senate Select Committee on Ethics did not confirm to the The State whether Dans or Lynch had filed reports or requests for an extension. Reports from Democratic U.S. Senate candidates Annie Andrews and Brandon Brown also do not appear on the Senate ethics database.

Graham’s annual report is available on the financial disclosure database.

A GOP Senate committee spokesperson categorized both Lynch and Dans as untrustworthy in news releases announcing the calls for investigations.

“What you see going on here is the national party committees … all of them tend to just support their incumbents,” said Brad Smith, the chairman of the Institute for Free Speech. Smith is a former Federal Election Commission chairman, and he founded the Institute for Free Speech, a nonprofit that often criticizes campaign spending restrictions.

A campaign official for Dans’ said that the law at hand does not require a personal finance disclosure report until 2026, which Smith said is not the typical interpretation of the rules.

“Mr. Dans is ready and willing to make his financial disclosures and will do so pursuant to federal election law and not the bogus threats of a compromised NRSC, which is built to protect the swamp,” a statement sent by Dans’ campaign official CJ Westfall read.

In an email to The State, Lynch criticized Graham, but he did not acknowledge the GOP Senate committee’s complaint in the statement.

The GOP Senate group accused Dans and Lynch of failing to file a personal finance disclosure report with the Senate Committee on Ethics by the deadline.

Candidates for the U.S. Senate must submit a personal financial disclosure report to the Senate Select Committee on Ethics under an ethics law from 1978. The law requires candidates for federal office to send in the report.

It’s a lesser-known requirement. Dans and Lynch submitted their initial paperwork to the Federal Election Commission.

The personal finance disclosure reports to the Senate ethics committee have to include sources of income, properties, liabilities, major purchases and outside offices or roles.

Smith said the law is traditionally interpreted to require contestants to file within 30 days of becoming a candidate or by May 15, if they begin their campaign earlier in the year. Dowling also wrote in an email that he believes candidates must file their disclosure within 30 days, regardless of year.

Lynch declared his candidacy to the Federal Election Commission in February 2025 and had received nearly $175,000 in contributions by the end of June. Dans declared his candidacy to the commission at the end of July, and he hasn’t reported any contributions yet.

This story was originally published September 19, 2025 at 5:30 AM.