President Donald Trump is going all-in for GOP Sen. Darline Graham Nordone in South Carolina's 2026 U.S. Senate primary, and according to Politico, her defeat in Tuesday's runoff would rank among his "most embarrassing losses" in a state he has carried in three consecutive presidential elections.

The GOP's grip on the state was evident in 2024, when Trump won South Carolina by 18 percent — and no Democrat has won a U.S. Senate race in the state since 1998, one reason the contest is effectively being decided inside the Republican primary. Nordone was appointed to the U.S. Senate by Gov. Henry McMaster following the unexpected death of her brother, Lindsey Graham, who had held the seat since 2003, and she is now competing against fellow South Carolina Republicans in the state's 2026 GOP primary — a contest that will be decided in a runoff on Tuesday, August 25, after no candidate cleared the majority required under state primary law to win the nomination outright. Should she fall short, Politico's Alec Hernandez emphasizes, it would also be a humiliating loss for Trump.

"If Graham falls short on Tuesday," Hernandez explains, "it will be one of Trump's most embarrassing in a recent string of losses this primary season. He pushed for her appointment to the Senate to complete her late brother's term and openly encouraged her to run for a full six years, with his backing."

Republicans, during Trump's second presidency, have often been in lockstep with the president, and his interventions in down-ballot primaries have become a recurring test of his pull over the party. But a victory for Nordone is far from a given in the Tuesday runoff, even as Republicans work to defend their House and Senate majorities in November's general election.

"Trump is bringing back his hallmark campaign rally for Graham on Friday in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, just days ahead of her runoff against Republican Rep. Ralph Norman," Hernandez reports. "It's a far cry from the quieter strategy the president has used for candidates in battleground races in Georgia, Michigan and Texas: a couple supportive social media posts and, in some cases, a tele-rally on the eve of Election Day." Norman has represented South Carolina's 5th District since winning a 2017 special election and is a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus.

South Carolina-based GOP strategist Randy Page argues that given how deep red his state is, Trump's campaigning skills would be better deployed elsewhere.

"It's going to be a red seat. If I were the president, if I were giving him political advice, I'd say: 'We're right next to Georgia, we're right next to North Carolina. Texas ain't that far away,'" Page told Politico. "There are some real places that are going to affect the party keeping control of either the House or the Senate, and it's like he's just flying over them and ignoring them."

Another Republican strategist, interviewed on condition of anonymity, told Politico: "He's coming in person for Darline Graham. He really hasn't done much else. He probably has the ability to move the needle in Republicans' favor better than anyone else in the country. The question is just: Will he? Is he willing to? Does he want to? Does he care enough?"