Darline Graham? Republicans Don’t Know Her.

Darline Graham made it official that she wants to run for a full term to represent South Carolina in the Senate. But unlike her brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, who died suddenly earlier this month, few people know where she stands on most issues.

President Donald Trump and top Senate Republicans quickly endorsed Darline Graham to become South Carolina’s next full-term Republican senator. But few Republican lawmakers personally know Graham, who was appointed to the seat just last week.

The low profile could put Graham, a longtime disability advocate who previously served on the South Carolina Commission for the Blind, at a disadvantage, even with Trump’s backing effectively making her the frontrunner in next month’s special election.

“These are people with legislative records that they can point to, that are proven to say, ‘Hey, prices are up, we can bring prices down if we do X, Y and Z. Here’s what I’ve done in the past,’” CJ Westfall, chair of the Dorchester County Republican Party, told NOTUS.

Darline is “somebody that’s unproven and just has the stamp of approval by the president. I don’t think that’s the end-all, be-all for South Carolina,” Westfall added. As a county party chair, he cannot endorse any candidate in the race.

Republican senators are still getting to know Graham, who cast her first votes in the Senate this week after a whirlwind appointment by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster. Initially, many believed she would serve as a caretaker for the last six months of her brother’s term, with several South Carolina Republicans expressing interest in the job, until a surprise Trump endorsement for a full six-year term upended the race.

“She certainly seems competent from the little bit I’ve seen. But competence isn’t even a requirement in this job, as I can demonstrate and prove,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota) joked to NOTUS.

“That’s what primaries are for — to discover those things,” he added. “It’s a very short time frame to prepare. Others who are in the business of politics may have that edge. On the other hand, her answers will be very instructive.”

Graham doesn’t have long to convince South Carolina voters to keep her in Washington. The state will hold a special election on Aug. 11, giving her roughly two weeks to introduce herself to voters after her brother’s funeral plans take place next week. The winner will compete against Democrat Annie Andrews in the November election.

Trump’s endorsement of Graham isn’t scaring off rivals from challenging her. Reps. Ralph Norman and Russell Fry have hopped into the race, along with businessman Mark Lynch. Former Gov. Mark Sanford and Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette are expected to throw their hats in the ring. Evette, notably, came up short in her bid for governor last month despite having Trump’s endorsement, underscoring that Graham’s campaign for Senate is no sure thing.

“Each candidate has a strength,” Tyson Grinstead, chair of the Richland County GOP and a former campaign adviser to Lindsey Graham, told NOTUS. “Darline’s a newcomer but she has Sen. Graham’s campaign and she’s got Sen. Graham’s structure in place to help her, and so I think that kind of evens out with some of the other candidates.”

“Russell Fry’s definitely got longstanding relationships. Ralph Norman has just come out of the governor’s race,” added Grinstead, who cannot endorse a candidate as a county party chair. “And then you’ve got Darline with Sen. Graham’s campaign, which was one of the only statewide campaigns that had a lot of money spent on it.”

Fry and Norman are pushing for a debate in Charleston on Aug. 4, the day before early voting starts. While the details are still being worked out, Norman suggested that’s where voters will have the opportunity to “find out” more about Graham, who hasn’t yet indicated whether she will participate.

Graham did give a hint about her priorities as senator in a recent interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity indicating she may focus more on domestic rather than foreign policy.

“I used to see him on the talk shows,” she said of her brother. “I would watch him, and I’d be like, ‘Lindsey, are you just talking about national security all the time?’ And I understand that’s important. Protecting our borders, national security, absolutely. I said, ‘But talk about also what matters to the average person. The price of groceries, the price of gas, health care, insurance, those kind of things.’ That’s what I’m worried about,’” Graham said.

She has moved to quickly align herself with Trump’s key legislative priority, a sweeping bill that would change some voting rules, known as the SAVE America Act. And she has the support of top Senate Republicans who immediately backed her campaign, including Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a staunch defense hawk.

Senate Republicans are also hoping that Graham’s support for a bipartisan Russia sanctions bill, which her brother long advocated for, will help get the legislation across the finish line in Congress and to Trump’s desk.

“Senator Darline Graham has worked for the people of South Carolina for almost 30 years, and now the U.S. Senate is an extension of that service. God calls on ordinary people to do extraordinary things, and it’s clear she has met the moment,” said Taylor Reidy, a Graham spokesperson told NOTUS in a statement.

Touting her work so far, Reidy pointed to her votes to confirm judges and the president’s nominees and added, “Sen. Darline Graham was sworn in eight days ago and in that time alone, she has led the introduction of major sanctions legislation, cosponsored the SAVE America Act and a host of pro-life bills.

Still, policy groups have yet to decide on Graham’s qualifications. Students for Life America, a prominent anti-abortion group, has yet to decide whether it will endorse Graham in the primary, with a spokesperson telling NOTUS on Tuesday that the group is still evaluating her positions. The late senator was an outspoken anti-abortion ally in Congress, and SFLA backed some of his efforts to restrict abortion.

Graham is working quickly to shore up support on the right. On Wednesday, she announced she is co-sponsoring more than a half-dozen anti-abortion rights bills, including the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.

Despite the questions about her background, Graham does have a number of things working in her favor. Due in large part to her brother and to Trump, she has high name recognition that others running may not enjoy.

“It’s huge statewide. It’ll be low turnout so name recognition will be an even bigger factor,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia), a member of Republican leadership who has endorsed Graham.

One South Carolina Republican strategist who spoke to Graham recently said she wants to chart her own path in the Senate.

“True to Graham fashion, she wants to own her own lane. And it’s not Lindsey’s lane,” the strategist told NOTUS.

Republicans are expecting Graham to begin campaigning in earnest after her brother’s funeral services on July 28. The late senator died at age 71 from a rupture of his aorta due to a hardening of his arteries, according to a preliminary analysis by the D.C. medical examiner.

“I know I’m a hard worker. I learned that from Lindsey,” Graham said in her interview with Hannity. “I feel like I can do it. I feel an inner peace about it. Will it be difficult? Yes. Absolutely.”

Capito conceded that Graham could face a challenge getting her message out in such a short time frame, but indicated she should be able to gather enough financial support.

“I think she will have a challenge getting her own voice out, and I don’t know if that’s a choice she’s going to make,” Capito said. “Is it her own voice, or is it just ‘I’m going to be the voice of my brother’ plus?”