SC’s voters give Lindsey Graham another 6 years in the US Senate. Here’s our view

The power of incumbency is a massive one, and on Tuesday night its force across South Carolina easily carried Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham to a fourth term in the U.S. Senate

Graham decisively defeated Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison by a margin far wider than most expected given the hard-fought nature of their race.

It’s clear that Graham’s 18 years of experience in the Senate — which has brought him widespread influence that includes chairing the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee — has won him a level of goodwill among South Carolinians that can’t always be easily measured in pre-election polls.

It can, however, always be counted upon on Election Day itself to strongly validate Graham’s work in Washington with another six-year term.

“No candidate owes so much to so many as I do,” Graham said during his victory speech Tuesday night.

“I will never take my eye off the ball of looking out for the state’s interests in Washington.”

It would have taken a supreme leap of faith for South Carolinians to forsake Graham for Harrison, a well-funded and energetic candidate who was nonetheless making his first run for elected office.

It was a leap of faith that the overwhelming majority of South Carolina’s voters felt little reason or desire to take.

And the credit for that goes more to Graham’s deep strength as a familiar political figure than any weakness on Harrison’s part as a relatively novice politician.

It’s beyond debate that Graham’s keen ability to reflect the conservative values of the widespread South Carolina electorate is the key reason why he continues to receive its trust to serve it in Washington.

And it’s the main reason why Graham will serve the Palmetto State in Washington for another six years.

Incumbents rule — except one

The coat of incumbent invincibility didn’t only serve Graham well; up and down the state, political fixtures such as U.S. Reps. Joe Wilson, Jim Clyburn, Ralph Norman and Tom Rice all won re-election by rip-roaring margins.

None of those wins were alarming and overly surprising in nature, though it’s a bit harsh that Adair Ford Boroughs — the thoughtful and impressive millennial Democrat who challenged Wilson for his 2nd Congressional District seat — lost by a wider margin than her forceful candidacy warranted.

The one exception to the reign of incumbency Tuesday night came in the Lowcountry where freshman U.S. Rep. Joe Cunningham lost his 1st Congressional District seat to state Rep. Nancy Mace, who deserves credit for skillfully using the potential closing of Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island to raise questions about the congressman’s effectiveness.

Mace’s victory aside, however, let there be no mistake about the dominant takeaway from Election Day: the voters of South Carolina looked the old-guard status quo in the eyes — and gave it a tight, warm and loving embrace.

This story was originally published November 3, 2020 at 11:57 PM.