2026 U.S. SENATE REPUBLICAN PRIMARY
Virtual Candidate Forum
Every candidate invited. Same format. Same core questions. Their answers, in their own words.
South Carolina voters deserve more than sound bites.
The Faith & Freedom Coalition of South Carolina invited every Republican candidate for U.S. Senate to sit down for an in-depth conversation about who they are, why they’re running, the challenges facing our country, and the principles that would guide them in Washington.
No debate clock. No thirty-second answers. Just the candidates making their case directly to you.
Watch the interviews below. Combined Forum Answers will be added as completed.
MARK SANFORD
Few names in South Carolina politics are as familiar. Sanford served in Congress, then as governor from 2003 to 2011, and later mounted a presidential bid — and at 66 he tells voters he isn’t the same man he was three decades ago. He’s campaigning on returning the power to declare war to Congress, on his disagreements with how the U.S. entered the conflict in Iran, and above all on the national debt. “I think we need an advocate for the taxpayer in Washington, D.C.,” he said after filing. In this conversation, he addresses both the record and the redemption.
SAM SHEPHERD
The Lexington inventor and chemist has had an unusual career by any measure — he says he worked on unconventional weapons for the Department of Defense in Houston and, before that, developed an early form of artificial intelligence to help pharmaceutical firms navigate global regulation. Tension between his scientific work and his Christian convictions over evolution led him to pursue a doctorate in biblical studies, and a rare bone marrow cancer diagnosis led him to develop an algae-based supplement now sold internationally. He’s candid that his central issue, how property taxes are calculated, is a local one, but sees the campaign as a platform.
DUKE BUCKNER
Buckner’s path to this ballot runs through a classroom. He taught middle school English and American literature in Walterboro before becoming an attorney, served a term on his hometown’s city council, and was the Republican nominee against Rep. Jim Clyburn in the 6th District in both 2022 and 2024. He came to faith at 18 and frames this run in those terms. He says he’s running to warn South Carolinians about what he calls an impending socialist revolution, rooting the argument in the cost of living: “All things that are necessary to families to have a piece of the American dream are becoming very expensive.”
RALPH NORMAN
The Rock Hill congressman was already set to leave his House seat this winter after finishing outside the runoff in June’s Republican primary for governor. He announced for the Senate within days of Graham’s death and quickly gathered endorsements from Rep. Nancy Mace and Sens. Mike Lee and Rick Scott, running on the same hardline fiscal conservatism he practiced as a leader in the House Freedom Caucus. He has also backed eliminating the filibuster — a break with his predecessor. Norman explains here why he believes the moment calls for a fighter.
RUSSELL FRY
The Myrtle Beach congressman, 41, won his seat in 2022 by unseating incumbent Tom Rice — one of ten House Republicans who voted to impeach President Trump — with Trump’s endorsement behind him, and went on to serve as president of his freshman class. He’s kept his focus domestic rather than foreign, organizing his message around affordability, and describes the vacancy as a once-in-a-lifetime opening in a state where Senate seats rarely turn over.
MARK LYNCH
Lynch is the only candidate in this field who has already faced South Carolina Republicans in a Senate primary this year. He challenged Graham in June and finished second with just under 29 percent of the vote. The Upstate businessman and conservative activist self-funded that effort and is putting several million more into this one, arguing the coalition he built in June is a foundation rather than a ceiling. He runs as a firm non-interventionist and has been endorsed by groups favoring abortion bans without exceptions.
DARLINE GRAHAM
Gov. Henry McMaster appointed her to her brother’s seat shortly after his death on July 11, and she has since taken on his staff and his workload. Before Washington, she led the S.C. Commission for the Blind, where disability advocates knew her long before the rest of the state did. She has begun co-sponsoring legislation her brother supported and has spoken out on issues including transgender participation in women’s sports; President Trump has endorsed her for the full term. With only weeks between her appointment and the primary, this is one of the first extended looks voters have had at her beliefs in her own words.
About This Virtual Candidate Forum
South Carolina Faith & Freedom invited all Republican candidates seeking election to the United States Senate to participate in this Virtual Candidate Forum. Participating candidates were offered the same general interview format and asked the same core questions covering a broad range of issues.
The views expressed in each interview are those of the individual candidate and do not represent the views or an endorsement of Faith & Freedom Coalition of South Carolina. No candidate paid to participate, and participation in this forum should not be construed as support for or opposition to any candidate.
This Virtual Candidate Forum was produced as a nonpartisan voter-education project of Faith & Freedom Coalition of South Carolina and made available for unrestricted public access.
Interviews are presented for voter education purposes.
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