Five Republican candidates seeking to fill the South Carolina US Senate seat left vacant by the death of Lindsey Graham clashed during a debate on Monday evening, revealing splits within the state's GOP over several high-profile national issues. While the candidates broadly agreed on core party positions, notable disagreements emerged over the war in Iran, federal spending, the Senate filibuster and data centre expansion, underscoring how much influence a single Senate seat can carry within the party.

The candidates included Senator Darlene Graham Nordone (Lindsey Graham's sister), Representative Ralph Norman, Representative Russell Fry, and other contenders vying in the special GOP primary. The debate exposed differing views among the field on how the party should approach foreign policy and fiscal matters, with tensions surfacing over issues that have traditionally divided establishment and more populist wings of the Republican Party.