South Carolina, Georgia, and Oklahoma hold special runoffs

Update, 10:51 p.m.:

Polls closed Tuesday night for runoff elections in South Carolina, Georgia and Oklahoma. Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., secured the nomination to run for a full term, according to the Associated Press, after South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster appointed her to complete the term of her late brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham.

In the state next door, voters in Georgia’s 13th Congressional District rejected a family successor—picking educator Everton Blair over the daughter of the late Rep. David Scott, D-Ga., to finish out Scott’s term, according to the Associated Press. Blair is not running for a full term.

Oklahoma voters selected nurse N’Kiyla Jasmine Thomas as their Democratic Senate nominee. President Donald Trump-backed state Sen. Mike Mazzei was less than a percentage point ahead with 99% of the vote counted for the Republican nomination to replace term-limited Gov. Kevin Stitt in a neck-and-neck race late Tuesday night. With the votes so close, the race was still too close to call at the time of publishing.

Former Gwinnett County School Board Chairman Everton Blair Jr., right, celebrates winning the special election runoff for Georgia's 13th Congressional District. Atlanta Journal-Constitution via Associated Press / Image by Olivia Bowdoin

Voters headed to the polls on Tuesday for primary runoffs in key races in South Carolina, Georgia, and Oklahoma. The passing of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., triggered a special Republican election to select his replacement. President Donald Trump endorsed Graham’s sister, Sen. Darline Graham, who was appointed to fulfill the remainder of her brother’s term.

Darline Graham’s opponent, Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., earlier indicated that he did not want to stay in Washington, D.C. The winner of Tuesday’s special runoff election will face pediatrician and Democratic nominee Dr. Annie Andrews in November.

For more election stories and up-to-date election results from the Associated Press, please visit WORLD’s Election Center 2026. 

What about the other races? Democratic voters in Georgia’s 13th Congressional District will select a replacement to finish the unexpired term of Rep. David Scott, D-Ga., who died in April. Scott’s daughter, Marcye Scott, and educator Everton Blair, are running to finish out his term but are not running in the midterm elections to succeed Scott for the next full term.

In Oklahoma, two candidates will return for a special election to select the Democratic Senate nominee. Either nurse N’Kiyla Jasmine Thomas, or minister and lawyer Jim Priest will face Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., in November. Sen. Alan Armstrong, R-Okla., who was appointed to replace Markwayne Mullin, the Homeland Security secretary, is not seeking reelection.

Also on the Oklahoma ballot is the Republican primary runoff to select a nominee to replace term-limited Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt. Trump-endorsed former state Sen. Mike Mazzei and Attorney General Gentner Drummond proceeded to a runoff election after Mazzei trailed Drummond in the June 16 primaries by only 1,141 votes.

Dig deeper: Read my report with Harrison Watters on the legacy of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham.