Democrat Annie Andrews wins South Carolina Senate seat, first since 1998

President Donald Trump hand-picked Graham after her brother, Senator Lindsey Graham, died in July. Trump lobbied Governor Henry McMaster to appoint his sister, a political newcomer, to finish the term. Days later, Trump posted 'RUN, DARLINE, RUN!' on Truth Social and promised his 'complete and total endorsement.'

Graham's political inexperience proved a liability in the general election. She won the Republican primary but was forced into a runoff with Representative Ralph Norman, winning by less than 5 points. As the campaign tightened, Trump held rallies for her in Pendleton and Rock Hill. 'Lindsey is watching, and very proud of her!!!' he posted the morning of the Rock Hill rally. On Election Day, he called her 'a spectacular person, and a true American Patriot.'

Andrews, a paediatrician, rarely campaigned with national Democrats. She picked up endorsements from former governors David Beasley, a Republican, and Jim Hodges, a Democrat. 'I'm willing to work with anyone, including the president,' she said last week. Her campaign raised $10.8 million, 60 per cent from small donors.

South Carolina voters engaged in ticket-splitting, backing Republican Alan Wilson for governor while choosing Andrews for Senate. Fortune reported that Graham ran roughly 10 points behind Wilson on the margin. The race was called by CBS News, NBC News and Decision Desk HQ.

Nationally, according to media projections, Democrats were on track to win the House majority and moving closer to controlling the Senate, with votes still uncounted in Alaska, Iowa, Michigan, Maine, Ohio and Texas. According to exit polls conducted by SSRS on behalf of a consortium of US media outlets, half of voters nationwide said they saw the midterms as an opportunity to rebuke President Trump, and three-quarters said they are 'angry' or 'dissatisfied' with the direction of the country. Seventy per cent of voters surveyed said they want Congress to provide more checks and balances on the president.

In Georgia, Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff, projected to win re-election, told supporters: 'In sweeping and decisive victories, the American people have rebuked the depravity, corruption and incompetence of the man named President Donald J. Trump.'

In Florida, Republican Senator Ashley Moody fended off Democrat Angie Nixon but by only about 3 percentage points, according to a vote count compiled by Reuters and USA Today, further evidence of the Democratic shift.