What A Day - A Woman Could Be South Carolina's Next Senator

Episode Date: July 21, 2026

Lindsey Graham died a little over a week ago – and last Tuesday, his younger sister, Darline Graham, was sworn in to fill his seat. Given that she has absolutely no experience in politics, pretty much everyone thought that Darline Graham was just going to be filling in her late brother's seat until his term ended. But on Friday, President Trump posted on Truth Social that he wants her to run to be the new Republican nominee in August's special primary election — and on Monday, she generously agreed. But many other Republicans have jumped into the race anyway… and whoever wins the nomination will be facing our guest today: Dr. Annie Andrews. She's a pediatrician who has focused her campaign not on Donald Trump, but on the health of everyday South Carolinians.And in headlines: Trump imposes new 50% tariffs on most Canadian goods, Arizona goes to the polls, and the New York Times reports that Trump denied nearly 6,000 clemency petitions from people who followed the Justice Department's stated policies for requesting pardons.Show Notes: Check out Dr. Annie Andrews – https://drannieandrews.com/ Call Congress – 202-224-3121 Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/y4y2e9jy What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/ For a transcript of this episode, please email [e-mail]

That's what our most recent polling shows, that even amongst a sample that where Trump beat Harris by 18 points, I am neck and neck with all of these Republicans. They are ready for something different. They're ready for a new generation of leadership. They're ready for someone who will just tell it plainly like it is, who won't tie themselves to a national party. I'm Jane Koston, and this is what a day. I'm appreciating how cool President Donald Trump was today. See, last week he gave a big speech. about how China had infiltrated our elections and created a, quote, election security nightmare. But today, he made it clear during an Oval Office press conference that actually,

no worries, China, all good. Mr. President, are you planning on putting any pressure or consequences on China for what you announced about them meddling in the 2020 election? Well, we're going to talk to them about it. It took place a long time ago. I think China is maybe a little bit different today than it was then. But look, they do things and we do things to them. I'll be honest. do we do things to them too. It's not a one-way street, but we'll be talking to them. Hmm. Maybe that's because he doesn't actually care about China at all. He just wants to pass the Save America Act to make it harder for Americans to vote for not Republicans. Just a thought.

On today's show, we talked to South Carolina's Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, Dr. Annie Andrews, about taking on the GOP and potentially running against Lindsey Graham's sister. Before we dive into that sibling succession, here's what we're following. following today, Tuesday, July 21st. There are no signs that Iran is ready to stop fighting. So what is the plan? Is the plan to just keep bombing until they give up? Why, do you know something that I don't know?

Well, they continue to attack our allies and kill Americans. You don't know what the dialogue is behind the scenes that they want to meet desperately to try and end it because they're getting decimated. You don't get that when you listen to your fake station, but you don't know, you don't know anything. Normal. President Trump hosted the president of Lebanon in the Oval Office today and expressed a dim view on possible talks to end his war with Iran. Trump told reporters in part, quote, until they're ready to meet in a meaningful way, we have no interest.

Meanwhile, Lebanon's president, Joseph Aoun, was there to push his own agenda, long-term calm after months of war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group. Israeli troops currently still occupy large swaths of southern Lebanon. Aoun wants Israel to withdraw and also wants support for the Lebanese military to assert full control in areas where Hezbollah militants had held sway. During their meeting, Trump called Aoun handsome and pledged to help Lebanon, quote, A lot without, of course, any concrete details. During that Oval Office meeting, Trump also answered questions about the 50% tariffs he imposed on Monday night on most Canadian goods. Yes, we've made it back to tariffs. The Canada terrorists.

Are those a response to the wildfires in? No, no. That's separate. We're looking at that separately. And what is there anything Canada can do? It's the only response to the way they've treated our farmers and our people. Canada's been very, very tough on us over the years. Oh, for many years. And no other president's done anything about it.

I love Canada. I love the people of Canada. Many friends that live in Canada. Listen, I know tariffs sound bad, but at least, Trump loves Canada. That helps, right? No. Yeah, I didn't think so. The tariffs are set to go into effect in 30 days. That leaves time for negotiations because, as we all know, Trump does not always follow through on his announced tax hikes on imports. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a statement that Canada is prepared to negotiate. Get out of the heat and into a vote center

because Arizona state primary elections are today. Arizona Republicans are choosing a nominee to challenged Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs in November. Two businessmen are in the race for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, as well as two Arizona congressmen, David Schweikert and Andy Biggs, who has a key endorsement from Trump and Turning Point Action. Republicans are also picking nominees for Secretary of State and Attorney General, as the GOP searches for a path back to power in a battleground state it used to dominate. You may want to sit down before you hear this. Donald Trump appears to be granting pardons and clemency based on political connections rather than need. I know. I'm shocked, too. That news comes from the New York Times,

which reported today that Trump denied nearly 6,000 clemency petitions from people who had followed the stated Justice Department policies for requesting pardons. Rather than the 250 pardons, the Wall Street Journal reported the administration was exploring granting an honor of America's birthday, Trump instead pardoned 11 men, several of whom had been convicted of crimes related to the Clean Air Act, a critical piece. of environmental legislation passed in 1970. Another pardon recipient, a fraudster, who has donated heavily to the GOP and Republican candidates, including a million dollars to multiple committees supporting Trump's 2024 campaign for the presidency.

Again, shocking. And that's the news. Let's talk about the Senate race in South Carolina. Lindsay Graham died a little over a week ago, and last Tuesday, his younger sister, Darlene Graham, was sworn in to fill a seat. Given that she has, absolutely no experience in politics, pretty much everyone, including the chair of the South Carolina Republican Party, thought that Darlene Graham was just going to be filling in her late brother's seat

until his term ended. But on Friday, President Trump posted on True Social that he wants her to run to be the new Republican nominee in August special primary election. And on Monday, she generously agreed. In an interview with Fox News as Sean Hannity, Darlene Graham made the case for a candidacy. The case is she will do what Trump wants. Really?

The meeting with the president, it was such an honor. It was comfortable. And, you know, I told him two things. I said, I can tell you this about me. I will work hard and I'm loyal. I bet he liked the second part better. Maybe, yeah. Suffice it to say, lots of people,

including Republicans, are not happy about this. So, many of them jumped into the race anyway. Trump's endorsement be damned. Whoever wins the Republican nomination will be facing my guest today, Dr. Annie Andrews. She's a pediatrician who has focused her campaign not on Donald Trump, but on the health of everyday South Carolinians. Annie, welcome to Waddae. Thank you. So happy to be here. So just over a week ago, your opponent for the Senate, Lindsay Graham, passed away unexpectedly. Graham. Graham was a huge part of South Carolina politics. I was struck by, you mentioned in an article that he was first elected to Congress when you were in eighth grade. That's right. What was your reaction when you found out he passed away?

I mean, it was a shocking development for everyone in South Carolina. It is a profound loss. I'm a physician. I'm a mom. I understand that it's a reminder that life is fragile. But, you know, I still think that this change, this enormous change in my race hasn't quite sunk in yet. Right. You know, it's changing who I'm running against, but not who I'm running for. And it hasn't really changed our messaging. And we're just ready to move forward against whoever my opponent becomes. Well, to that point, in a June 30th poll, I'm looking at this right now, you were only trailing Graham by three points, which I think is indicative of the environment you're running in. People want change. But now, after more than a year of campaigning against Graham, you suddenly have a good chance of running against his sister, Darlene Graham.

Both of you have never held public office, but until about a week. ago when she was sworn in to replace her brother in the Senate, she'd never done anything in politics, but she has powerful name recognition, the support of Donald Trump, and a potential sympathy vote. How do you run against a candidate like that? Well, the good news is right now I'm not running against her. Three other Republicans are currently running against her in this GOP primary. And so they're already beating her up. They're all going to beat each other up.

It's going to be a South Carolina GOP civil war for the next three, four, five weeks. and I get to just continue talking to the general electorate. I'm running a general election campaign right now while they are running a far-right, crazy, MAGA Republican primary in South Carolina. I have to ask, what did you think of Trump saying this week that he wanted her to run for that full term after last week, this being like she's just going to sit in his seat until the end of what would have been Lindsey Graham's term? Yeah, I think most people thought she was going to be a placeholder senator, and it was a nice gesture to show Donald Trump's respect. for the late Senator Lindsey Graham. It threw us all for a loop when he decided to back her.

I think it's important to recognize that no one knows where she stands on literally any issue. She just put up a flash page, a splash page, excuse me, for her campaign that doesn't have any policy positions. She was on Hannity last night. She didn't talk about any policy positions. She has done great work in South Carolina supporting blind South Carolinians finding employment, but does she support the Medicaid budget cuts that are going to devastate access to health care for blind to South Carolinians? Does she support the Federal Department of Education cuts that will devastate, you know, grant funding to help people who teach blind children how to read? We don't know where she stands yet. Republicans in Washington, D.C. are lining up behind her and endorsing her. And this is exactly

what's wrong with American politics today. Yeah, I was really struck by the GOP WIP saying that she's already been a great senator. And I'm like, it's been six days. Right. So as Senator, Lindsay Graham was really good at bringing federal dollars back to South Carolina. Earlier this year, for example, he secured nearly $150 million for infrastructure and workplace development projects in the state. But I don't live in South Carolina. And what I know of Lindsay Graham was his eagle-eye focus on foreign policy. And you've said that he, quote, abandoned South Carolinians to do, quote, the bidding of Donald Trump.

In your view, what has South Carolina been missing in the Senate? We have been wasting one whole U.S. Senate seat on someone who woke up every day and thought about everything but South Carolina first. He talked about Israel more than he ever talked about South Carolina. I was talking to voters in Cherokee County this weekend, and they said, we never saw him. We saw him on Fox News on the weekend. We never saw him here in South Carolina. Every U.S. state has two senators, and we wasted a whole seat on someone who was not fighting for South Carolina. And the major sentiment I hear from voters is they're just disappointed in who he be. became. When he was a John McCain-style Republican, he had a lot of respect from independence in South Carolina, center-right Republicans, center-left Democrats. And he lost all of that because he tied himself so tightly to Donald Trump. But we are looking forward. We were looking about what's possible for South Carolina's future. I'm running a campaign about what is possible in the future. I think this is an opportunity for South Carolina to move forward together. And that's what we're focused on.

For more on the far-right, crazy mega-Republican primary in the Palmetto State, Stick around. We'll get back to my conversation with Annie Andrews. But if you like the show, make sure to subscribe. They have a five-star review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, watch us on YouTube, and share with your friends. More to come after some ads. This episode of Whataday is brought to you by Wild Grain. Wild Grain is the first bake from frozen subscription box for sourdough breads, artisanal pastries, and fresh pastas. Plus, all items conveniently bake in 25 minutes or less.

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Let's get back to my conversation with Annie Andrews. South Carolina went for Trump in 2024, So when you're talking to voters, including voters who supported Trump, which includes a lot of independents who go back and forth, what is it that you're hearing about, that are their main concerns? What did they want from Trump and what are they looking for from you? I mean, what they wanted from Trump, I believe, is what Trump campaigned on, which is lowering grocery prices and no more foreign wars. But here we are with grocery prices sky high and we've entered this deeply irresponsible, unnecessary billion dollar a day war. with Iran. They also want an end to the corruption in Washington, D.C. They want to end partisan gerrymandering. They want to see term limits passed. They want to see members of Congress not able to trade individual stocks or not able to

become lobbyists. They're so tired of self-enriching politicians who run on term limits and then they run for term after term after term and they get corrupted by the D.C. machine. They want someone who stays in touch with South Carolinaans. I get asked all the time, how do we know, Annie, that you're not going to go up to D.C. and just sell out and disappear. And number one, I say if I could be bought, I wouldn't be a pediatrician. I'd be some other kind of doctor that makes a lot more money than a pediatrician.

And number two, I think the worst part of the job will be the hours I have to spend in Senate committee meetings in D.C. What I want to do is be connected to the voters, listen to voters, talk to voters, develop solutions for voters, and then implement those solutions. I think so often when Democrats run in red states,

there's a question of why would Republicans vote for a Democrat? So what makes you think that voters who see that you're a Democrat, who you're going to be supported by Democrats, you're looking for support from Democrats nationwide even? Why should they and why would they support you? Because first and foremost, I'm a pediatrician. Secondly, I'm a mom of three public school kids. And then third, I'm a Democrat. I'm not your average Democrat.

Our polling suggests that I'm overperforming a generic Democrat by 25. points with non-Mago Republicans and 19 points with independence. And it's because I come at this from a totally different lived experience working on the front lines of Americans' broken health care system. When people see me, they see first a doctor and a mom who actually wants to solve some problems, not someone who's been plotting her entire life for a career in politics, looking for an advantage to run for office. I mean, it makes no objective sense for me to even be running for the U.S. Senate right now. I have a career that I love that I'm good at. I have three very busy school-age children. But I am so deeply passionate about fighting for people in South Carolina

about delivering results that I felt like I had no choice but to jump in this race. And so when people see me, when they hear from me, they understand that I'm not your average Democrat. I'm not your average politician. And I come at this from a different perspective. And I am just a pragmatic problem solver and someone who will actually do the job. Since Graham's passing, you've had a huge head start on the seat. And you were just saying, basically for the next four or five weeks, you get to watch a right-wing Donnybrook to challenge for the right to face you. But you're a Democrat. And South Carolina is a red state. We've seen Georgia become a solidly purple state. Is there a chance South Carolina can do the same? Absolutely. And that's what our polling showed before he

passed away. And that's what our most recent polling shows, that even amongst a sample that where Trump beat Harris by 18 points, I am neck and neck with all of these Republicans. They are ready for something different. They're ready for a new generation of leadership. They're ready for someone who will just tell it plainly like it is, who won't tie themselves to a national party. I will be a senator for South Carolinian. So yes, absolutely, South Carolina is on a path to follow in the footsteps of Georgia and what's been happening in North Carolina. There is no reason it cannot happen in South Carolina. And we've been building a statewide campaign to meet the needs of the voters and to deliver an election victory on November 3rd.

If you are elected on November 3rd and you are sworn into office in January, what's your first point of focus? I'll be elected as the first elected female senator from South Carolina. And my most urgent action will be to stop the impending Medicaid budget cuts. Medicaid is the backbone of health care in South Carolina. We have 15 counties without an OBGYN. We have health clinics that are closing their doors because of these impending Medicaid budget cuts. And they must be stopped or it will further devastate access. to health care for so many people who live in rural South Carolina.

Annie, thank you so much for joining me. Thank you for having me. That was my conversation with Dr. Annie Andrews, Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in the state of South Carolina. Before we go, on last week's episode of Runaway Country, Alex looks at the lawless and racist nature of the Trump administration's immigration policies and how Americans are reacting to them. Listen to Runaway Country Now on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. That's all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review.

Explain to me why people in the UK can now play the Powerball lottery in the U.S. and tell your friends to listen. And if you're into reading, and not just about how Powerball ticket sales began in the United Kingdom today, because I guess people there deserve a chance to also not win the Powerball. Like me, what a day is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe at Crooked.com slash subscribe. I'm Jane Koston.

And remember, of winning a powerball jackpot are one in 292.2 million. In comparison, the chance of being killed by an asteroid is one in 1.6 million. So, probably not. What a day is a production of Crooked Media. Our show is produced by Caitlin Plummer, Emily 4, Erica Morrison, and Adrian Hill. Our team includes Haley Jones, Greg Walters, Matt Berg, Joseph Dutra, Johanna Case, and Desmond Taylor. Our music is by Kyle Murdoch and Jordan Cantor.

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