The South Carolina Republican Party will be hosting Sen. Darline Graham and U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-District 5, for a runoff debate.
SCGOP is planning to hold a debate on Tuesday, Aug. 18, between Graham and Norman, who earned the most votes on Aug. 11. Both candidates are running to be the Republican Party's next Senate candidate after Lindsey Graham's death in mid-July.
More: Darline Graham, Ralph Norman headed to runoff in GOP Senate Primary
The runoff debate will be held in partnership with Newsmax at the Newberry Opera House on the day before early voting starts.
The early voting period runs from Aug. 19-Aug. 21, before the runoff election day on Aug. 25.
In a statement, SCGOP Chair Drew McKissick congratulated both candidates on advancing to the runoff.
"We want to make sure Republican voters have the opportunity to compare and contrast the candidates on the issues they care about, and get the information they need to make an informed decision," McKissick stated.
Almost 350,000 South Carolinians voted in the special Republican Senate primary on Aug. 11. Only South Carolinians who voted in the June 9 Republican primaries, or who didn't vote at all, were deemed eligible to vote in the special election.
More ballots were cast in the Aug. 11 special election than in the June 23 Republican governor's race runoff. Roughly 319,000 people voted in the runoff between Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and Attorney General Alan Wilson. However, fewer people voted in the Aug. 11 special election than in the Republican gubernatorial primary on June 9. Almost 473,000 people voted in the Republican gubernatorial primary.
In Tuesday's special election, Graham racked up almost 110,000 votes, which is roughly 33% of the vote. Norman earned almost 83,000 votes, or roughly 25% of ballots cast. Roughly 143,000 South Carolinians did not vote for a candidate that advanced to the runoff, meaning a significant part of the voter base will be up for grabs before Aug. 25.
Norman racked up a significant amount of support in the Upstate, winning 10 counties including Greenville, Spartanburg and Anderson. Graham won much of the Midlands and Lowcountry. She won 28 of South Carolina's 46 counties, including Richland, Charleston and Orangeburg Counties.
Russell Fry, R-District 7, won eight counties largely centered around the Pee Dee, but he failed to advance to the runoff. Graham earned the second-highest number of votes in the eight counties won by Fry.
Early voting in the special election runoff will run from Aug. 19 - Aug. 21, and the polls will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on election day, which is set for Aug. 25. Voters can find their polling place and check their voter registration on the South Carolina State Election Commission's website.
The runoff winner will compete against Charleston Democrat Annie Andrews in the general election on Nov. 3.
Bella Carpentier covers the South Carolina legislature, state, and Greenville County politics. Contact her at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Senate candidates to debate, vie for SC voters up for grabs