South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster’s July 2026 appointment of Darline Graham to fill the remainder of her late brother Lindsey Graham’s Senate term – and her subsequent decision to run for the seat – may seem unusual. After all, Darline Graham has no experience in elected office and was virtually unknown outside of the small circle of people who knew her from her time heading the South Carolina Commission for the Blind, or the slightly larger group of people who knew her as Lindsey Graham’s sister.

Nevertheless, she’s made history as the first woman to represent South Carolina in the U.S. Senate.

Graham has since demonstrated how quickly a family connection can translate into electoral support. On Aug. 11, 2026, she finished first in a 10-candidate Republican primary with nearly 33% of the vote. She now faces U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman in an Aug. 25 runoff.

Her appointment belongs to a long American tradition of family succession in politics.

For much of the 20th century, political parties, particularly in the American South, routinely turned to relatives – particularly widows – to fill congressional vacancies. The practice persisted because it provided continuity during moments of uncertainty, preserved party control of valuable seats, avoided divisive nomination fights and capitalized on the electoral value of a familiar name. Although family succession might seem at odds with democratic ideals of open competition, it also created one of the first pathways for women to enter Congress.

As scholars of elections and Southern politics, we see the Graham appointment as a reminder that political inheritance has never been fully absent from American democracy. What........

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