The sister of US Senator Lindsey Graham will serve as his temporary replacement after the South Carolina lawmaker died from an aortic tear on Saturday.
Darline Graham Nordone was formally chosen by South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster on Monday, who introduced her as Graham’s “little sister” who would “finish his work for him now”.
“It is such an honour. Lindsey has always been there for me and now I will be there for him,” Nordone said.
The announcement came after officials including President Donald Trump calling for Nordone to serve as his replacement in a “tribute” to the senator, who never married and had no children.
Graham was close with his sister, who he legally adopted after their parents died while they were young.
McMaster said she would serve out the remainder of Graham’s term, which is set to end in 2027.
“Lindsey took care of his little sister,” McMaster said. “It’s my honor to ask his little sister, Darline Graham Nordone, to finish his work for him now.”
Nordone said she believed “this is what Lindsey would have wanted and I plan to honour him in this way”.
I mean Graham and his sister have a tragic backstory, so I don’t think it would raise many questions.
As best I can tell this is the first case of a sibling taking over. There are also fewer recent examples than I thought. I assumed a “window succession” was fairly standard, but it seems it’s been 25+ years since it happened last (in the US Senate).
Ok yeah, that one’s on me, I probably should have read the Wikipedia article a bit more before making my comment.
But the succession thing is weird and this is the first I’ve heard of it. Sounds like it might only be temporary? Who knows these days.