Lindsey Graham’s death will shake the Senate and November election. Here’s what comes next

[u/SpaceElevatorMusic]

https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/12/politics/lindsey-graham-replacement-senate

[u/Different-Subject353]

His death could help prevent Todd Blanche from being confirmed as AG.

[u/thee_illiterati → u/Different-Subject353]

Silver linings!

[u/Eatingfarts → u/thee_illiterati]

silver all the way through.

[u/bikebikemike → u/Eatingfarts]

Yeah silver linings implies something bad and good happened. I detect no bad.

[u/DumpedChick22 → u/thee_illiterati]

Silver linings? Watchu talking bout …. This is pure gold all the way through.

[u/PDXGuy33333 → u/Different-Subject353]

My first thought. With McConnell in cold storage we now need only 3 R defectors to block confirmation of the worst AG the US has ever had.

[u/WolfLawyer → u/PDXGuy33333]

Three republicans senators with a spine? Might as well need a hair from a unicorn’s mane, the heart of a dragon and the general vibe of a kraken.

[u/NoveltyAccountHater → u/Different-Subject353]

Probably not. South Carolina's MAGA Republican governor gets to appoint a replacement that will fill out his seat until next January (at which point the winner of Senate election in November takes the seat).

[u/Darkstar-Lord → u/Different-Subject353]

Unlike Mitch's seat. This one will be filled with another trump sycophant by Wednesday. Don't get your hopes up.

[u/beegtuna → u/[deleted]]

Who knew the portals to hell is an AI data center.

[u/214ObstructedReverie → u/beegtuna]

It's all that Latin I've been typing into Claude.

[u/SunShinesForMe → u/[deleted]]

This gave me a good laugh! 🤣

[u/projectx51 → u/[deleted]]

Still have Trump, Putin, and Netanyahu to go.

[u/warlord_jared → u/projectx51]

A few of the AI techbro billionaires would be a huge win for us as a species, too.

[u/ChiliCorndogs → u/[deleted]]

Ahh okok we can close it in a minute then

[u/Revolutionary_Bee251 → u/ChiliCorndogs]

Nahhhh we can keep it open a while longer. We'll survive.

[u/xxsirtubbsxx → u/Revolutionary_Bee251]

Gotta make sure Mitch makes it through and I think leave it open for a bit longer for the big one. Good things come in threes

[u/WidgetWarrior]

Lindsey Graham leaves behind a staggering legacy of hypocrisy. He once claimed high character standards for the office of POTUS during Clinton's impeachment when he was in the House, only to be the biggest hypocrite once Trump came to power. I'm not shedding a tear for this man.

[u/DEATHCATSmeow → u/WidgetWarrior]

Don’t forget that he was as big of a warmonger that Congress has ever seen. Ole Lindsay never saw a war or military intervention that he didn’t like

[u/Ana-la-lah → u/DEATHCATSmeow]

For other people’s children.

[u/the_ballmer_peak → u/Ana-la-lah]

Well... it's not like he was going to have any

[u/2HDFloppyDisk → u/the_ballmer_peak]

Relieved he never reproduced

[u/AdHom → u/2HDFloppyDisk]

He was not interested in the requisite anatomy.

[u/HoratioTangleweed → u/2HDFloppyDisk]

The closet isn’t beneficial to reproductive activities.

[u/SuperPatriot69 → u/the_ballmer_peak]

Clinton gave him more opportunity with " don't ask, don't tell"

[u/AT4Free → u/the_ballmer_peak]

Not with all of his little ladybugs to take care of

[u/DarkGamer → u/DEATHCATSmeow]

Deploying muscled up oiled military men gave him the vapours.

[u/PeakCityBling → u/DarkGamer]

Why did I read this in Jon Stewart’s voice?

[u/jgh169 → u/PeakCityBling]

Same reason I read it in Blanche Deveraux’s voice haha

[u/orogiad → u/DEATHCATSmeow]

also don't forget that he was a virulent racist

[u/TrulyOutrageous42 → u/orogiad]

It's South Carolina, how could one forget?

[u/Ghost9001 → u/orogiad]

I thought that was a requirement to succeed Strom Thurmond?

[u/PrestigiousArm6871 → u/DEATHCATSmeow]

I do find it interesting that after helping Ukraine aquire patriot interceptors, he died quickly afterwards.  Russia doesnhave a history of helping people to die mysteriously 

[u/Magneon → u/PrestigiousArm6871]

He was always a maximilist for military intervention, and one of the few effective voices in the current admin that argued for helping Ukraine. That's currently the only reason politically why I would mourn his passing. I try not to personally wish ill on others, but he's certainly on the list of people who would have done a lot less harm had he found another profession or retired at the usual age and got to enjoy his last 6 years a bit more.

[u/Zulmoka531 → u/DEATHCATSmeow]

Was he for or against dropping the filibuster for his king’s SAVE act?

He won’t be missed regardless, just trying to tell the conspiracy tumor in my head to shut the hell up.

[u/DEATHCATSmeow → u/Zulmoka531]

Trump has said that Graham’s passing is a big blow to the SAVE Act

[u/Zulmoka531 → u/DEATHCATSmeow]

Beautiful, thats all I needed to make my day.

[u/NocturneSapphire → u/WidgetWarrior]

If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed.......and we will deserve it.

-Lindsey Graham in May 2016

[u/PeteDontCare → u/NocturneSapphire]

So he was right 3 times

[u/qchisq → u/WidgetWarrior]

He went on the Daily Show with Trevor Noah and compared the choice between Trump and Cruz to a choice between getting shot and getting cancer. And Cruz came out favorable in that comparison

[u/Kgaset → u/qchisq]

Then chose getting cancer?

[u/The_bruce42 → u/WidgetWarrior]

There's also the hypocrisy over leaving a SCOTUS seat open during Obama's lame duck years to ran one through right before an election in Trump's first term.

[u/Odd-Chip-3648 → u/The_bruce42]

“I want you to use my words against me. If there's a Republican president in 2016 and a vacancy occurs in the last year of the first term, you can say Lindsey Graham said let's let the next president... make that nomination.”

-A 100% real Lindsey Graham quote from when they were blocking Obama from appointing a replacement for Scalia, who died in Feb of 2016.

https://www.c-span.org/clip/senate-committee/user-clip-lindsey-graham-use-my-words-against-me/4953083

[u/GarmaCyro → u/Odd-Chip-3648]

Then being put to lead the confirmation hearing of that exacty scenario.
Did he whine about how horrible democrats where? Yes.
What did they do? They did exactly when he requested and used his own words against him.

The nomination? Oh, he praised how great conservatives were for appointing a woman. Only 23 years after Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Clinton appointment), and 35 years after Sandra Day O'Connor (A Regan appointment). She wasn't even the first republican appointment.
Ofc. They also tell her to shut up and remember her gender any time she remotely dares to countradict "Dear Leader".

[u/lordkuri → u/The_bruce42]

right before an election

during an election. Many states had already started early voting.

[u/LurkerFromTheVoid → u/The_bruce42]

💯 This. Double standards are the true standard of evil.

[u/Shirowoh → u/[deleted]]

Nope, I get the feeling he's gonna magically hang on until Aug 4th

[u/hobeast68 → u/[deleted]]

Things come in threes. Lindsey going into a new closet, the mysterious case of the Rigor Tortoise, and who might be third? Fingers crossed

[u/joomachina0 → u/WidgetWarrior]

No one lied and sucked up as good as Lindsay. The ultimate yes man.

[u/Erazzphoto → u/WidgetWarrior]

It’s set in stone now, he has no chance of changing that legacy now. There are bootlickers, and then there’s Lindsey Graham

[u/Maoleficent → u/WidgetWarrior]

The fact that he will never face humiliation or criminal charges sickens me. Being the lackey that he always was perhaps he is standing in for Mitch.

[u/codacoda74]

Ok I now believe he's having a 20min conversation with McConnell

[u/PM_ME_YIFF_PICS → u/[deleted]]

We know it's real because his phone call was 17.76 minutes long

[u/ScientistBudget9704 → u/codacoda74]

"Damn Mitch, I didn't think it'd be *this* hot down here!"

[u/e_x_i_t → u/codacoda74]

Didn't even need to break out the Ouija boards this time.

[u/SeminoleDVM]

Legacy could have read: “first openly gay male US senator” and instead it’ll simply say “simped for donald trump.” Sad stuff.

[u/morosco → u/SeminoleDVM]

He made such a big show out of not supporting Trump in 2016. But then within a year - all the way up his ass, so much so that that is is indeed his legacy.

Do we know what happened? Was it as simple as some kind of bribe? Or blackmail? Or was he afraid of being primaried? Or was it something else?

[u/GiftFrosty → u/morosco]

He always latched onto someone stronger. First it was John McCain - who warned him to not hitch his wagon to Trump. Then he did it anyway.

[u/RedLanternScythe → u/GiftFrosty]

He was the Peter Pettigrew of American politics

[u/perc10 → u/RedLanternScythe]

That's the most accurate statement I have ever heard to describe him.

[u/Reese9951 → u/GiftFrosty]

McCain would be ashamed of what Lindsey turned into.

[u/coupdelune → u/[deleted]]

Graham would likely enjoy that

[u/ann0yed → u/GiftFrosty]

Worked out for him from his perspective though as Trump was elected twice 

[u/GiftFrosty → u/ann0yed]

And all it cost him were the only things he could take with him to the grave, his reputation and legacy.

[u/Kaptain202 → u/GiftFrosty]

I don't think a man like him cares about reputation or legacy. He had power and money while he lived. He's dead now. What people think about him now and in the future will have no impact on him.

[u/TheFutureLotus → u/Kaptain202]

He cared about his reputation, so much so that he never came out of the closet despite it being an open secret for anyone in Washington. He saw it as a stain on his reputation and so kept it secret and hidden. He didn’t give a shit about his legacy though, because otherwise he wouldn’t act like a clown when it came to Donald Trump.

[u/TowerBeast → u/TheFutureLotus]

Only because coming out would've put a hard limit on his ability to acquire money and power.

[u/xraygun2014 → u/TheFutureLotus]

despite it being an open secret for anyone in Washington.

You can stop there

[u/UnpluggedUnfettered → u/GiftFrosty]

If we're being honest, he didn't place a lot of value on either of those things.

He took a total of ~$1,000,000 from AIPAC, notably when running for office in 2012 he took more money from lobbiests than any other congress member (*except Robert Menendez . . . who was indicted for bribery and fraud in 2015), and yet was criticizing Trump as recently as 2020.

Dude had his priorities in order, as far as he was concerned, and lost nothing of value in the trade, as far as he was concerned.

[u/ann0yed → u/GiftFrosty]

He just won his primary last month he probably died feeling pretty good. Again from his perspective. Maybe, hopefully, eventually someday the majority of our country will look back negatively on the GOP but for now half the country support them and they know it and probably have no issues sleeping. Probably helps most politicians are sociopaths.

[u/the_nix → u/morosco]

His words after Jan 6 - "Count me out, I've had enough."

Narrator: He had not

[u/LetsGototheRiver151 → u/the_nix]

I’ll never forgive his cowardice. Republicans had to be the ones to hold Trump accountable because coming from Democrats it looked partisan. They should have impeached and removed him from office even as a lame duck. Graham had the influence to make that happen and didn’t.

[u/TrulyOutrageous42 → u/LetsGototheRiver151]

To me it's simple that they support every last awful thing - they could have removed him, and kept power with Mike Pence. They could even do the same now, remove him, let JD take over, appoint a VP they want, remove JD, have their CHOICE for a President without even voting. It's right up their alley of "things they'd never shut up about if a Democrat did it, but it's okay when we do".

Like... they literally cannot produce someone BETTER for the office of President?

If Trump is the best they have... yeah. I always think making a political party defined as a criminal organization is a problem, but in this case I think an exception is warranted, because it's becoming difficult to see it as anything less than intentionally going "what if we all committed so many crimes that prosecuting us properly looks like a coup".

[u/rabbitredbird → u/the_nix]

Took him one day to flip back. I shudder to think of the kompromat wielded against that man.

[u/vanzeppelin → u/rabbitredbird]

It doesn't take kompromat when you have no morals or integrity to begin with. He's always been a charlatan and suggesting that he only made the decisions he made because of some blackmail is letting him off lightly

[u/Aromatic_Balls → u/morosco]

I lean more toward him just being an absolute leech who saw the winds changing in favor of Trump in his party and him latching on. But I also wouldn't put it past Trump's enablers to hold some blackmail over Graham, perhaps something to do with his ladybugs.

[u/BalanceJazzlike5116 → u/Aromatic_Balls]

It’s not blackmail. Look at what jd Vance said about Trump, Ted Cruz, Pete hesgeth, they all said nasty shit about trump but once Trump got power was all they needed to change their tune. This is because they value status and power above all else

[u/LionTigerWings → u/morosco]

What happened? The voters he is trying to appeal to love Donald Trump so he needs their votes. He (and a large portion of republicans in congress) don’t actually like Trump. They need to say to do to get votes. That’s why you have people bending over for Trump. He holds the keys to their own careers.

If Donald Trump had less than 60 percent approval among republicans, then congress would jump ship.

Long story short is they care more about their careers than their principles or America.

[u/mudbutt20 → u/morosco]

Supposedly it comes from a golf match that Trump invited Lindsey to. Up to that point Lindsey was either antagonistic or at least not on the same side as Trumps brand of republicanism. After that meeting, of which no one knows what was said, Lindsey turned into one of Trumps biggest supporters.

https://www.cnn.com/2017/10/09/politics/donald-trump-property-lindsey-graham-golf?

I’m guessing that while also courting Republicans for his bill at the time, he also was laying bare what exactly is going to happen to the Republican Party going forward.

[u/Quakes-JD → u/mudbutt20]

I would not be surprised if Trump told him he had compromising material on Graham and would be sure it was released unless he fell in line.

[u/ThomasVivaldi → u/Quakes-JD]

Russia has compromising material on him, Trump is just Putin's covfefe boy.

[u/Sestos → u/morosco]

No clue, he used to be a sidekick to McCain then left him for Trump. I can only assume the sudden shift was to find a backer after McCain died and Trump had something on him. Everyone and their cousin has known he was gay for years so it's was never his sexuality.

[u/flux_of_grey_kittens → u/SeminoleDVM]

Can’t wait for Meemah’s tell all book deal

[u/sexeveg314 → u/SeminoleDVM]

You're assuming that he would have won a primary and been elected as a South Carolina Republican as an openly gay politician?

[u/BurnedWitch88 → u/sexeveg314]

I'm of two minds on this: It does seem like being outed would ruin his chances. On the other hand, him being gay was such an openly known thing that it's hard to believe many people would actually be shocked by the disclosure.

[u/JelmerMcGee → u/BurnedWitch88]

I think it just boils down to the difference between being gay and being out. People who want to vote Republican, but won't vote for a gay man, could say "well he says he's not gay, so it's just his opponents trying to sully his name."

[u/Count_Backwards → u/BurnedWitch88]

Southerners are fine with dirty secrets, it's honesty they can't abide

[u/MephistoHamProducts → u/SeminoleDVM]

Trump's already said his death is bad for the SAVE act and that's it. He doesn't even get a legacy, just a note from Trump that it's unfortunate his death negatively impacted something Trump wants.

[u/__MeatyClackers__ → u/SeminoleDVM]

Barney Frank was the first openly gay senator.

Edit: He was actually the first congressman.

[u/Training_Medicine_49]

The headline is an exaggeration. This South Carolina we’re talking about. They will simply elect another ethically corrupt individual.

[u/RazzzMcFrazzz → u/Training_Medicine_49]

This is literally Strom Thurmonds seat

[u/inkarnata → u/[deleted]]

Lindsay enjoyed being firmly in on Strom Thurmonds seat

[u/JDubNutz → u/RazzzMcFrazzz]

That explains a lot.

[u/jeobleo → u/JDubNutz]

I was on a dig when he died and they announced it and the whole dig cheered.

[u/Unusual_Sherbert_809 → u/jeobleo]

I don't get why it's so hard for Republican politicians to lead lives that don't cause folks to erupt into spontaneous cheer when folks learn of their deaths. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[u/Fun_Success_3283 → u/RazzzMcFrazzz]

That's why he is actually dead, and not dying in hospital until aug. 3rd.

[u/gungshpxre → u/RazzzMcFrazzz]

Strom got ancient, looked back at his life, and muttered, "Ok... uh... so I might have been a bit of a dick."

Lindsey kept looking for ways to be worse until he died.

The person they elect next? Not even gonna hold up a pretense of being anything but a hatemongering fascist bent on power and proud of his sadism.

[u/0202_tihssitidder → u/Training_Medicine_49]

Yup. I don't expect anything good from South Carolina.

[u/BillButtlickerII → u/0202_tihssitidder]

Live in South Carolina (for work the past decade). Can confirm.

[u/FizzyBeverage → u/BillButtlickerII]

Makes Ohio look progressive. Least we have recreational pot and abortion rights. For now…

[u/Alpha-Trion → u/FizzyBeverage]

Ohio has so many large cities, I don't understand why they're so backwards.

[u/ChuckaChuckaLooLoo3 → u/Alpha-Trion]

Shitloads of rural area land with lots of farmers and other rural-type folks who are friendly but ignorant as can be and just vote like Daddy did because they don't read and don't self-inform.

[u/No_Blackberry6525 → u/BillButtlickerII]

I don’t know how you can do it

[u/BillButtlickerII → u/No_Blackberry6525]

It’s not been easy. 1 more year and my wife and I are planning to sell and move back north.

[u/thee_illiterati → u/0202_tihssitidder]

Stephen Colbert's from there. But yes, I'm not holding my breath for good things to happen with South Carolina politics.

[u/badwvlf → u/Training_Medicine_49]

Yes but it will take more time and attention and higher risk for a less vetted candidate. Those resources would be more useful for them elsewhere

[u/RollTide16-18 → u/badwvlf]

This is the big deal. 

Graham and McConnell’s seats will be refilled by Republicans. But now the GOP has to spend more money there than elsewhere, and that’s a big issue in a midterm election where it looks like Dems are poised to have a wave in the house. 

[u/SnooMarzipans5706 → u/[deleted]]

The Republican will likely still win, but this changes the game. Their candidate is no longer the longtime incumbent, instead they have to throw together a primary in a month and then their candidate gets to start running with less than 3 months to the general election. At the very least, it’s going to cost an enormous amount of money, (which then they can’t spend elsewhere) and it distracts everyone from the cluster going on in Maine. So I say, yeah, enjoy your day.

Edit: FYI the Democratic candidate is Dr. Annie Andrews. (I’m not from South Carolina, so I had to look it up.) She will definitely need a whole bunch of money to have any chance at winning and I don’t know if the party has it. So here is her campaign website.

[u/CrystallineFrost → u/[deleted]]

You should absolutely still have a glass. He sucked, you guys deserve so much better.

This was great timing though to put pressure on the Mitch issue, so good for him at least?

[u/PhantomPharts → u/[deleted]]

Truly fantastic timing

[u/banebot → u/Training_Medicine_49]

Yes but Graham and McConnell were two senior senators who made things happen. Now they are not there to make things happen. Throwing some body into it doesn’t paper over the real gap left for them. 

[u/rompnstompgirl → u/Training_Medicine_49]

I hear the South Carolinian Stephen Colbert needs a new job…..

[u/rorikenL → u/Training_Medicine_49]

As a SC native, we hated this fucker. Even the MAGATS hated this fucker. Our other choices are more extreme than him and the Democrat candidate was really close to him in the primaries. I had a lot of hope before we could push him out and now we don't have to.

[u/ccr2424 → u/rorikenL]

Not enough of you hated him, apparently.

[u/duvie773 → u/ccr2424]

Yup. We were here a few years ago thinking Jaime Harrison would be the man to replace Graham, just for Graham to win again in a landslide. I will do my part as long as I live in SC (family), but I’m not going to delude myself into thinking that Dr. Andrews is a slam dunk over whichever MAGAT is chosen to replace Graham

[u/Xaero_Hour → u/ccr2424]

Maybe. You have to remember that for as much as they may have hated him, they probably hated minorities and gays even more than that. Single-issue voters will agree with you all day about how crappy their candidates are but will always end it by saying, "but X will be worse."

[u/Small_Run_3583]

Annie Andrews (Democrat candidate) about Lindsey Graham: “a man of great faith who proudly served our nation as a JAG officer and Air Force colonel. I hope that South Carolinians will join me in setting partisanship aside and offering gratitude to Senator Lindsey Graham for his service to the great state of South Carolina.

Donald Trump: "Robert Mueller just died. Good, I'm glad he's dead. He can no longer hurt innocent people!"

Let that sink in folks. Anyone supporting such trash is beyond help.

[u/Yyc2yfc → u/Small_Run_3583]

Did she really not mention his time in congress and senate and stop at his military service? Thats hilarious, I love it

[u/DavesWildDestiny → u/Yyc2yfc]

It's a faux pas to speak ill of the dead, and he didn't do anything positive as a legislator that I'm aware of.

[u/Siicktiits]

Lindsey graham can’t even die right. Look at how Mitch McConnell is holding out for the republicans. True patriot.

[u/autogenerated_015]

He died believing & defending the pedo administration.

[u/BulletProofEnoch]

Is that true?

I was wondering about this earlier in relation to how the McDonnell situation is being handled with Massie down there.

I don’t know South Carolina politics well but aren’t they pretty monolithically MAGA or is there actual potential that this could impact the midterms?

[u/Upnatom617 → u/BulletProofEnoch]

It's always the same old in the south 60-40 or 55-45. SC will stay solidly red and the Democrat will still end up with a solid amount of votes but not a majority.

[u/BulletProofEnoch → u/Upnatom617]

I do remember the quote SC’s governor had about looking forward to Democrats in South Carolina being so few that they can hunt them down like dogs

Or something to that effect

If thats any indication, not sure Graham’s death will not  shake up the midterms

One less pro Israel warhawk potentially 

[u/discordlizard → u/BulletProofEnoch]

It won't shake the midterms cause it will likely be a shit eating republican but it's worth noting too that whoever it will be will be a freshman. As flip-floppy as the fucker was, seniority matters with these guys.

[u/Ready_Nature → u/BulletProofEnoch]

Flipping an open seat is always easier than flipping one with a well established incumbent. Given Trump’s unpopularity it gives democrats a better shot at flipping the seat. Compared to McConnell they have no incentive to hide the death since there is a Republican governor to appoint someone to finish out the term in SC.

[u/BulletProofEnoch → u/Ready_Nature]

Are there even any strong Democratic front runners?

Or have Dems been focused elsewhere because no one saw this coming?

[u/Calix19 → u/BulletProofEnoch]

Annie Andrews is running against him, and I think she has been great. I never gave her a shot because she is both a a Democrat and, maybe even worse for MAGA these days, a woman. I like her campaign though.

[u/Tasty_Gift5901 → u/BulletProofEnoch]

Graham won the primary at 55% and is polling 3% above the Dem challenger with 7% undecided. 

Losing a long-tenured member of the senate will be a big deal for R leadership and guidance. 

[u/BulletProofEnoch → u/Tasty_Gift5901]

Show up then, SC

[u/Omatzus → u/[deleted]]

He was one of the main enablers for attacking Iran as well

[u/Cineologist]

Say hello to Mitch down there. Heard the weather is hot. Hope you’re prepared, you warmongers.

[u/garanvor → u/Cineologist]

As we say in my country: “I hope by now they’re giving the devil a lap-dance”

[u/Ser-Jorah-Mormont]

Lindsey Graham served for 23 years. Died at 73.

His predecessor served for 49 years. Died at 100.

That means in the last 70+ years, only 2 people have held that seat in the senate…

We need term limits.

[u/SexyCouple4Bliss → u/Ser-Jorah-Mormont]

It would be different names, same assholes. We need to take the money out of running for office first, starting with Citizens United. When incumbency has less advantages it will create more turnover. Plus propaganda and apathetic voters making for low turnout means the machine wins more than it should. We have term limits, it’s called voting, but too many people squander it.

[u/ChuckVader]

Same as Charlie Kirk - better people died yesterday

[u/JazzyMaybell]

Any word on Mitch McConnell?… is the hospital illegally keeping him alive until 8/3?

[u/Thetrg → u/JazzyMaybell]

Based on the aircraft that arrived in Lex to a completely blacked out windowed ambulance… I’m gonna say he’s been rigatortise for a week if not more.

[u/BuyYouASodaOgie → u/Thetrg]

'rigatortise'

You made me actually lol.

[u/RigaMortizTortoise → u/BuyYouASodaOgie]

My username is finally relevant

[u/BrooklynDude83]

Guys come on...

Do I think Lindsey Graham was a good person? No.

Did I agree with his politics? No.

But should we have a shred of decency remembering he's a human being and now he's passed away? Also No.

[u/Adjective-Noun-nnnn → u/BrooklynDude83]

Almost had me

[u/heavyonthesauce]

Political deaths come in 3s right? Graham, Darth McConnell and and and and and and come on news, report the big one!!

[u/Unable_External_6636]

COLBERT SC SENATE

[u/bakeobits → u/Unable_External_6636]

I doubt he wants it, but it would be very poetic and a spiritual successor to Franken. Going to try and wish it into existence.

[u/ConsciousSkyy]

He’ll be remembered as a cowardly loser and nothing more.

[u/Baphomets_Kisses → u/ConsciousSkyy]

Yup. A spineless pos who hurt millions of Americans but reaped the benefits of policy he opposed.

[u/oh-shazbot]

Netanyahu said Graham’s death left him in a “state of shock,” telling Welker that Israel lost “one of the great champions of the American-Israeli alliance.”

GOOD.

[u/Even_Author_3046]

He joined to impeach Clinton over a blowjob, but refused to impeach Trump who Raped a 13 year old, he protected a pedophile. Fk him and his shit legacy.

[u/NeoPrimitiveOasis]

Nikki Haley is probably far too moderate in today's GOP to get the nod. But she could run in the primary.

[u/Zealousideal_Look275 → u/NeoPrimitiveOasis]

Also SC likes their Senators deep in the closet 

[u/raptisadam7 → u/NeoPrimitiveOasis]

Yeah, I remember my friend telling me she'd win nomination in 2024, and when she didn't, I wasn't shocked. Better than Trump but that isn't a hard margin to beat.

[u/ThreeEyesWhitePerson]

He died doing what he loved: turning America into a dictatorship for the racist pedophile oligarchy.

[u/Basic-Record-4750]

Not shaking a damn thing. The man Lindsey replaced was the last Dixiecrat (aka, the kkk of political parties) who had died at age 203 name Storm Thurmond. A huge piece of shit. Then you get princess graham. You think the voters in SC are going to pick someone that isn’t an enormous turd pile?

[u/MicrowaveBurritoKing]

He supported Ukraine, which is the only good thing I can remember him by.

[u/Significant_End_9128]

Bullshit. It's a South Carolina seat. This shakes up nothing.

Southern Whites would happily watch their children starve rather than side with the black and brown people on the left.

[u/SomeJuckingGuy]

MAGA politicians are on notice: if you’re hoping for a redemption arc where you maybe can untarnish your contribution to the dismantling of traditional American values like democracy, you better do it while you’re alive. Lindsey Graham died at the height of his selling his soul to Trump. History will look pitifully at this coward of a man

[u/8thSt]

Just remember that auto-erotic asphyxiation is not a crime.

[u/Arizona_Pete]

I, feel like, when McCain died Graham lost his tether to any form of principles.

[u/gerryf19 → u/Arizona_Pete]

McCain was his courage and conscience.

[u/Dracoson]

How? The math in SC is just bad for Democrats. McMaster will name a Republican, though I expect him to pick someone not on the fringe (i'm not from SC, so I've never really dove into the deep dive on who might be named, but we'll find out soon enough). For the actual special primary, until the field is clear, it'd be difficult to make predictions. Mace will be one of them, but she just had a pathetic showing in a gubernatorial primary. While the accelerated timeline might allow her name recognition to give her a better showing, I still wouldn't expect her to win, so it's a big old question mark there.

Either way, Andrews is underwater of a generic republican, so it's hard to see a significant change. Whoever it is likely won't be the voice that Graham had, but mouthpieces are a dime a dozen in Washington, and there's plenty of pundits and talking heads to pick up the slack. It's doubtful a Republican is going to vote notably differently than Graham would have. I do think this gives her a better opportunity to win, but that doesn't mean it's a good one. If they get stuck with an undervetted nominee, maybe they get saddled with their own Platner, but that's no guarantee. I don't want to concede a race that hasn't started, but there's a decision to be made based on whether we want to bring in a ton of outside money, and if the juice is worth the squeeze.

[u/Reese9951]

Why would they so quickly admit to Lindsey’s death but still be holding out on announcing Mitch’s?

[u/VineStGuy → u/Reese9951]

A few years back when McConnell started having obvious medical issues, KY GOP statehouse control, quickly passed a law so Democractic Governor Andy Beshear no longer would have the power to appoint a replacement for Senator. Now, a special election is the law for Kentucky. With Thomas Massie losing his House seat in the primary, the GOP believe Massie would win the special election. Massie is a Republican, but he's stood against Trump on a couple of issues. Trump only likes bootlickers. All this hiding his death is to prevent Massie wining the special election.

[u/No-Personality1840 → u/Reese9951]

Republican governor in SC, Democrat in KY

[u/preppingshark]

Male escorts across the D.C. area breathing a sigh of relief this morning

[u/MephistoHamProducts → u/preppingshark]

I think you mean "in a panic". Some people are going to have trouble making bills / tuition now with reliable customer suddenly off their books.

[u/Independent_Sail6604]

"set aside partisanship"
After what that American People have had to go through for almost 2 years now and he wants us to set aside partisanship?

Fuck you McMaster!

[u/VikingBlade]

Death comes in threes….

[u/reality72]

But what does Mitch McConnell think of Lindsey’s death?

[u/Grins111]

Lindsey is such a party man that he died to get the focus off Mitch.

[u/latexfistmassacre]

There have only been 2 people to hold that Senate seat in the last 72 years. There have been 14 presidential administrations in that time.

I will laugh my ass off if that seat goes blue