A lifelong Republican in South Carolina announced on Friday that he is breaking with his party in this year's midterm elections, saying he will not vote for Darline Graham, the U.S. Senate candidate backed by President Donald Trump.

Warren Norman, a real estate developer, laid out his reasoning in an essay published Friday on FITSNews, writing that while he remains a conservative, he will cross party lines in the Senate race. Senate contests this fall will help determine which party controls the chamber — and with it, the fate of legislation and presidential appointments.

“I am a conservative,” Norman wrote. “I have voted Republican my entire life, and I still believe in what the Republican platform stands for: limited government, fiscal responsibility, individual freedom and personal responsibility.”

Norman noted that politics runs in his family — his father lost the GOP primary to Graham after Trump endorsed her. While he plans to vote for a handful of Republican names on his midterm ballot, he was unequivocal about the Senate contest: “I will not be voting for Darline Graham for the United States Senate.”

Norman said he has sympathy for Graham following the recent loss of her brother, Lindsey Graham, the longtime South Carolina Republican senator and prominent ally of President Trump, but that his decision “comes down to what I believe South Carolina needs in a senator, and what I've seen get in the way.”

“We need senators with the to stand up to pressure from both parties, including their own, and the commitment to root out corruption wherever they find it,” he wrote. The remarks appeared aimed at Graham's alliance with Trump; a recent Fox News poll found that corruption ranks as voters' top concern.

Norman also criticized the tone of the campaign, asserting that vast sums of money are being spent to “tear down the other candidate, make voters afraid, and sometimes simply make things up, instead of explaining and actually fixing problems.”

“Lying and fear tactics are wrong,” he wrote. “Fear can win an election. It doesn't lower an insurance bill, clean up corruption or make life more affordable for a South Carolina family.”

According to Norman, Trump and his allies are directing that playbook at Annie Andrews, the Democratic candidate in the race. “Millions are being spent to tell voters what to fear,” he wrote. “Far less has been said about what Senator Graham will actually do for South Carolina, or whether she'll stand up to the people funding her campaign when it counts.”

Norman said he has spent time with Andrews and that while the two “disagree on a lot,” they “also agree on some important things, including fighting corruption.”

“As of today, I'm leaning her way,” he declared. “It will be the first time in my life I've voted for a Democrat in a partisan election.” He stopped short of a formal endorsement, describing his position as of Friday, with Election Day approaching in November.

Norman argued that continuing on the same path would yield the same results. “I can't keep voting for the same playbook and expect a different result,” he wrote. “In good conscience, I won't. Real leadership sometimes requires change, and choosing something different is often how change actually happens. I believe the timing is right to do that now. That, ultimately, is why I've made this decision.”

He closed with a message to his fellow Republicans: “I don't expect everyone to reach my conclusion. That's democracy. But when you choose who gets your vote, look past the attack ads and ask one question about each candidate: do they have the backbone to stand up for what they believe in and stand up against corruption, or will they be beholden to their party?”