Who is Darline Graham Nordone? Late senator’s sister picked to complete term

Darline Graham Nordone will represent South Carolina in the U.S. Senate following the sudden death of her brother, Lindsey Graham.

Gov. Henry McMaster appointed her to succeed Graham on Monday afternoon. Nordone will finish out Graham’s term, which ends in January 2027.

“It is such an honor,” Nordone said Monday. “Lindsey has always been there for me, and now I will be there for him.”

Nordone lives in Lexington, South Carolina, and serves as commissioner on the state Commission for the Blind. She is married and has two daughters and a grandson.

Graham’s younger sister hasn’t held elected office. She worked as a business services and communications director at the South Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation Department, according to a biography distributed by McMaster’s office.

Nordone grew up in Central, a small town near Clemson University, with her brother. The family lived in a room in the back of their restaurant, bar, pool room and liquor store.

After filing to run for reelection in March, Graham described his childhood with Nordone as “not rich financially, but in every other way, incredibly rich.”

“It was a great life because we were well-loved,” Graham said in March. Nordone, and other members of their family, were with Graham at his campaign kickoff.

Graham and Nordone’s parents died within 15 months of one another while Graham was studying at the University of South Carolina. Nordone was only 13-years-old.

Their parents’ deaths made Graham a father figure to his younger sister, Nordone previously said. Graham eventually became her legal guardian.

“I can remember the day my father passed away, standing in that house absolutely scared to death,” Nordone said in 2015 when Graham announced his presidential bid. “Lindsey wrapped his arms around me and promised me that he would always be there for me and always take care of me.”

Nordone is also a member on the state Workforce Development Board and is president-elect of the National Council of State Agencies for the Blind, according to the governor’s office. She graduated from the College of Charleston with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and holds a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling.

South Carolina’s senior senator died suddenly Saturday evening, his office announced. A preliminary report found he died of a tear in his aorta due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease, according to the medical examiner of the District of Columbia.