Five Republican candidates faced off in the first debate of a special primary to fill the US Senate seat left vacant by the death of Senator Lindsey Graham, with the contest centred on who can best carry his legacy in South Carolina. The debate exposed both unity and friction among the field as they competed for backing ahead of the primary vote, with the winner set to appear on November's special election ballot.

The leading candidates are Darline Graham Nordone, the late senator's sister who is serving as interim senator, alongside Representatives Ralph Norman and Russell Fry, former Governor Mark Sanford, and businessman Mark Lynch. All candidates stressed their loyalty to President Trump, while Fry argued the Senate was "no place for on-the-job training" in a dig at Graham Nordone's lack of political experience; she countered by presenting her outsider status as an asset. Several candidates also broke with the late senator's own position by backing the elimination of the filibuster to pass the SAVE America Act, a bill on voting citizenship requirements, while Lynch came under fire from rivals over his immigration record. The primary is scheduled for 11 August, with a runoff on 25 August should no candidate win a majority.