COLUMBIA, S.C. — With a week left before voters statewide pick a U.S. senator, both campaigns in the race picked up heavyweight help Monday: two former governors from opposite parties lined up behind Democrat Annie Andrews, and President Donald Trump scheduled his second South Carolina rally of the month for Republican Sen. Darline Graham.
Former Gov. David Beasley, a Republican, and former Gov. Jim Hodges, a Democrat, released a joint endorsement video for Andrews, a pediatrician. The pairing is notable because Hodges unseated Beasley in the 1998 governor’s race after Beasley’s single term from 1995 to 1999.
In the video, the two said they still disagree on plenty but agree that the state needs less partisan fighting, and they described Andrews as someone who would put people ahead of politics. Beasley, who switched from Democrat to Republican earlier in his career, has also written recently that he is disheartened by the direction of his party under Trump.
Graham was appointed to the seat in July by Gov. Henry McMaster after the death of her brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, and she has Trump’s endorsement. Recent polling has shown her ahead of Andrews, though the race has drawn more attention than usual for a state that typically votes Republican.
Trump heads to Rock Hill on Thursday, Oct. 29. Doors open at 9 a.m., and he is expected to speak around 12:30 p.m. Registration is open through the Republican Party. He was last in the state Oct. 21, when he rallied for Graham in Pendleton.
Two minor-party candidates are also running: Kasie Whitener for the Libertarians and Mark Hackett for the Constitution Party. Voters can cast early ballots through Saturday, Oct. 31, ahead of the Nov. 3 election.
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