Politics

Lindsey Graham is fighting off an ‘America First’ primary challenge

Published

4 months ago

June 9, 2026

The far right is trying to defeat Sen. Lindsey Graham. He’s burning serious cash to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Spending from his campaign and allied outside groups ahead of Tuesday’s primary has already topped $18 million, according to an AdImpact analysis — an eye-popping sum in the relatively small state, and a sign that Graham is taking seriously the primary challenge from businessman Mark Lynch as he seeks to avoid a runoff election.

Graham allies including a pro-cryptocurrency organization, an outside group closely aligned with GOP Senate leadership, and a super PAC that has not yet been required to make its donor list public have combined to dump millions into the race on Graham’s behalf.

Lynch has held his own, mostly self-funding his campaign with $5 million of his retirement savings. He is running hard to Graham’s right, setting up a proxy test of whether the “America First” GOP base views President Donald Trump’s recent interventionist turn with some skepticism even as they continue to support the president. Core to his message is an attack on the senator’s long history in Washington, including his past support of amnesty for undocumented immigrants — and his stridently interventionist foreign policy, including his vocal support for Trump’s war in Iran. Lynch’s campaign ads feature clips of Graham from his 2016 presidential bid calling Trump a “bigot” and praising former President Joe Biden.

Lynch’s campaign has also attracted the support of some of the president’s most prominent MAGA Republican critics, like former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who says the GOP has moved away from Trump’s “America First” platform.

The few public polls of the primary show Graham either narrowly topping or just under the 50 percent threshold he’d need to avoid a two-week runoff. In addition to Lynch, four other Republicans will appear on the ballot, which could further dilute Graham’s share of the vote.

The big spending against a little-known primary opponent has drawn some attention in the closing days of the primary.

“Lindsey is well-funded. You might as well make sure you’ve got all the i’s dotted and all the t’s crossed to make sure that you win without a runoff,” said Tyson Grinstead, chair of the Richland County GOP and a former Graham campaign adviser. “For Lindsey, I think it’s not outside the norm, especially in Lindsey dollars.”

The matchup between the longtime senator and the Upstate South Carolina businessman is shaping up to be a test of what “America First” means and who can claim that mantle in the Republican Party: close allies of the president like Graham, or those who are the staunchest adherents to MAGA’s original values, like Lynch.

Anti-interventionism was a core tenant of Trump’s meteoric rise that helped him squash more hawkish Republicans, including Graham, to win the White House in 2016. But now, more than 100 days into a conflict with Iran, the president has aligned himself with Graham’s hardline approach to foreign policy — a complete reversal of his perennial campaign promise to keep the U.S. out of foreign wars.

Trump has backed Graham’s reelection bid, but several anti-interventionist Republicans have come out in support of Lynch in the closing days of the campaign, painting Graham as an avatar of establishment support for U.S. military intervention.

Greene, a former Trump acolyte who broke with the president over voting to release the Jeffrey Epstein files and the war in Iran, posted a long message supporting Lynch and slamming Graham as an “America Last warmonger.” Joe Kent, who left his Trump administration post in March because of the Iran war, posted a similar endorsement message a few days prior.

“All the double dealing, all the lies, all the selling out the country to foreign powers — now [Graham] faces the humiliation of being forced into a runoff,” Steve Bannon, Trump’s former chief strategist, told Blue Light News.

Graham is still seen as a heavy favorite to hold the seat. He has been sent back to the Senate three times since he first won in 2002, warding off a primary challenge from the right each time. He’s a fixture of both Palmetto State and national Republican politics, and has successfully rekindled a close alliance with Trump amidst their long-running on-again, off-again relationship.

Regardless of whether he wins outright or has to keep running for two weeks, Graham is still expected to defeat Lynch. But the viability of Lynch’s challenge so far reveals yet another fissure between a faction of MAGA and the Republican establishment that has been remade in Trump’s image.

“I take everything seriously when it comes to representing the people of South Carolina, including my primary,” Graham said in a statement to Blue Light News.

The senator has long been a prolific fundraiser. He amassed the single biggest war chest of any Republican running this cycle and had just over $4 million cash on hand as of late May, despite the likelihood that he will not face a competitive general election. And he’s no stranger to spending big to ward off a primary challenge. In 2014, Graham spent $8.5 million to overcome a crowded primary field that became a test to prove his conservative credentials. And he spent nearly $100 million in 2020, successfully dispatching Democrat Jaime Harrison in the general election by 10 points in the deep-red state, even as Harrison outspent him.

But more important than money in deep-red South Carolina, he has firm backing from the president, who has stuck with Graham even as cracks emerge in his home state support — and in spite of their occasional splits.

Trump swooped in to boost Graham with a tele-rally on the eve of Election Day.

“He’s outstanding. He’s been at my side for a long time. We fought each other initially a long time ago,” Trump said Monday. “But after that fight was over, we were best of friends, and he’s helped me as much as anybody in the Senate.”

In encouraging Republicans to vote for Graham, Trump also tacitly acknowledged the challenge Lynch poses. “We don’t want any surprises, we don’t want any bad things to happen. Elections, you never know, so we have to be very careful,” he said.

Lynch’s campaign declined to make him available for an interview. His spokesperson and adviser Noel Fritsch said that if the campaign can push Graham into a runoff, it would be “a huge shock to the system” in South Carolina because Graham has won easily in the past.

Lynch’s platform is centered around spending money domestically rather than overseas, and he has spent significant time on the stump and on far-right media outlets hammering Graham’s record as more “Washington-first” than “America First.” He’s blasted Graham for his support of Trump’s war in Iran, in particular.

While Lynch casts himself as a strong supporter of Trump and his MAGA movement, Fritsch brushed aside concerns that the president’s endorsement of Graham will be insurmountable in the Republican primary.

“Everybody that we’re talking to is like, ‘what’s going on with his endorsements?’ There’s a couple of folks out there who are kind of like, ‘I’ll do whatever Trump says,’ but most of the folks are just like, ‘What is going on? This is not the Trump that we knew or voted for over and over again,’ Which, by the way, is what Mr. Mark Lynch did.”

Lynch’s campaign faces an uphill battle against a well-funded incumbent with deep ties to the Republican Party in Columbia and Washington. Graham’s campaign has spent $13 million alone on advertising, several million of which have been in negative ads hitting Lynch over his complicated past with drug use and arrest on charges of cocaine trafficking in 1984.

“Mark’s been very open about the fact that in the early 80s … he had some issues with substance abuse, specifically cocaine. He’s been a teetotaling, stone-cold sober, Southern Baptist guy for over four decades since then,” Fritsch said.

Observers and allies say that others have tried this kind of primary challenge with Graham before — and it hasn’t worked.

“Lindsey has only lost one county in any primary race in his career for the Senate, and that was — gosh, that was 2008,” Grinstead, the Richland GOP chair, said.

“The same people who are always against Lindsey are against Lindsey this time,” he added. “I’m not seeing a lot of new folks who are on the conservative side of the grassroots establishment starting to leave Lindsey.”

Andrew Howard and William Steakin contributed to this report.

Politics

Two Dans, four choices, one big headache for GOP in Alaska Senate race

Published

20 minutes ago

October 20, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

ANCHORAGE — Alaska Republicans have railed for years against ranked-choice voting. Now some worry it could cost them in a critical Senate race.

GOP Sen. Dan S. Sullivan is facing not only well-known former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola in the four-way general-election field, but a same-name challenger who Republicans think could siphon votes from him in the close contest.

Some GOP operatives fear the senator will lose first-choice votes to retired teacher Dan J. Sullivan Jr. — and that supporters of his longshot rival might not rank the incumbent at all in the state’s unusual election system where voters can pick backup options that get counted if no candidate clears 50% of the initial vote. Two recent polls that simulated ranked-choice tabulations showed Peltola as the victor.

Art Hackney, a Sullivan ally who runs a super PAC boosting the senator, said Dan J. Sullivan is “going to get a percent of the vote” and warned it could be “potentially” be “significant in terms of impacting” the result of the race.

“Sullivan can win … but it makes it a heck of a lot harder,” added a Republican operative working on other Alaska races. “It’s what the race is going to come down to: If he loses, it’ll for sure be because of that. And if he wins, it’ll be in spite of that.”

Republicans have for years bemoaned the system that allows voters to rank their preference and eliminates candidates until one reaches a majority as “costly” and “confusing,” and argue it has undercut their party. Top Republicans like outgoing GOP Gov. Mike Dunleavy and President Donald Trump have urged voters to repeal the system via a ballot measure this fall after a previous effort failed two years ago.

“Even if he gets a percent or 2% or 3% percent with the phony ranked choice stuff, you never know what they’re going to do with it,” Trump said of Dan J. Sullivan in a rally in Wasilla last week, adding that it “could be the difference.”

It’s happened before: Peltola benefitted in her House win from a split GOP field, while Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) warded off a Trump-backed challenger in 2022 partly because of ranked-choice voting. Alaska Republicans are also fretting about the governor’s race this year, where three GOP candidates are competing, urging voters to “rank the red.”

Dan J. Sullivan, Heikes and Peltola’s campaign did not respond to requests for comment.

The similarly named Sullivans are separated on the ballot by their middle initials and party affiliation (the incumbent is listed as a Republican, the challenger without a party).

But the senator and his allies aren’t taking any chances.

They’re employing several of the tactics Murkowski used during her successful 2010 write-in campaign, including giving out rubber wristbands branded with the senator’s name and party affiliation, and airing a radio jingle with the NRSC.

“Dan S. is your No. 1,” the jingle goes. “If he’s not, rank him second, don’t throw your vote away. Dan S., Daniel, Gerry — just don’t rank Mary.”

“Dan S. Sullivan has two opponents in this race: Democrat Mary Peltola, and the ranked choice system she and her allies have deceptively manipulated to her advantage,” said Nate Adams, a spokesperson for the senator. “But our campaign is confident that Alaskans aren’t confused. They know the real Dan, and we’re making sure every voter can find him: ballot facsimiles on every mailer, voters reached at the door and on the phone, and even a jingle.”

Those pushing to keep ranked-choice voting in Alaska argue the system helps mitigate the so-called spoiler effect. The group behind this year’s repeal measure said in an email that it’s a nonpartisan effort focused solely on eliminating the system.

Outside GOP groups boosting Sullivan like Americans for Prosperity Action and Club for Growth Action have been urging voters at doors and via mailers to rank the incumbent first, a slightly different approach than Sullivan’s campaign. “Make Republican Incumbent DAN S. SULLIVAN your 1ST CHOICE and ONLY CHOICE,” read one Club for Growth Action mailer seen by Blue Light News, a slightly different approach than Sullivan’s campaign.

“In a tight election, it doesn’t take a ton of people to get confused to possibly change the trajectory and the outcome,” said Kevin Greene, senior adviser for AFP Action in Alaska.

A version of this article first appeared in Blue Light News Pro’s Morning Score. Want to receive the newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to Blue Light News Pro.

Politics

Democrats’ Musk-ask questions

Published

4 hours ago

October 20, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Democrats’ Musk-ask questions

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Politics

Pritzker’s big spending for Black and Hispanic candidates is drawing notice

Published

5 hours ago

October 20, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

CHICAGO — JB Pritzker is pouring tens of millions of dollars of his own money into boosting Black and Hispanic candidates this cycle. That could help him win over critical voters in 2028.

The billionaire Illinois governor — who’s also considered a potential presidential contender — is investing at least $38 million in battleground races, according to a person familiar with the governor’s political strategy granted anonymity to discuss details.

Much of that spending has gone to candidates of color, some of whom haven’t drawn much other investment from national Democrats. Pritzker is also investing in races in all six early states on the Democratic presidential nominating calendar, which was rearranged earlier this year to give prize spots to five states with significant Black or Hispanic communities: South Carolina, Nevada, New Mexico, Virginia and Michigan.

Asked by Blue Light News about how his midterms spending could lay the groundwork for a presidential campaign, Pritzker said he’s “focused on winning in 2026.”

But some of those receiving major infusions from Pritzker say it should earn him a serious look in 2028.

“Governor Pritzker is playing a very important role” in the party, said Rep. Shomari Figures, a Black Democrat facing an uphill fight in Alabama who has gotten an assist from Pritzker’s newly-formed super PAC, Ready for the Fight. “He actually cares and is… willing to invest in districts where minority candidates have a good shot if they have the right type of support. I think that’s an important element of any leadership.”

Pritzker said Ready for the Fight’s strategy focuses on GOP-leaning districts that would normally be “out of sight for Democrats” but have become competitive in a favorable midterm environment.

Figures is fighting for reelection in a district Republicans redrew to make it harder for a Democrat to win by decreasing the Black population, after the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act this past spring.

When that court decision came down, Figures said Pritzker was one of the first people to call him to offer help.

“The fact that he reached out and engaged us through that lens with that level of knowledge about what was happening in Alabama meant a lot to us,” Figures said.

Pritzker is spending $1.6 million for Figures, $1.9 million to boost Tennessee state Rep. Justin Pearson, another Black candidate running in a newly gerrymandered district that includes part of Memphis, and has put $1.3 million behind Arkansas Democrat Chris Jones in his race against Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.) in Little Rock, making him the largest Democratic spender besides the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in all three districts.

Pritzker is also the largest individual donor to Texas Democrat Gina Hinojosa’s gubernatorial campaign, personally contributing $200,000 before committing another $1 million earlier this month. The latter donation came with a matching contribution from the Democratic Governors Association. Hispanic officials and lawmakers have been ramping up the pressure on the group’s chair, fellow 2028 hopeful Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, to invest more in Texas.

Pritzker called Hinojosa an “outstanding person.”

“The opportunity for her to win and for Democrats to win as a result of her winning is tremendous,” Pritzker told Blue Light News at a Thursday press conference. “From my perspective, we all ought to be helping somebody like that to overcome the odds.”

And while he declined to criticize national Democrats’ strategic decisions not to spend for some candidates in tough races facing a deluge of GOP outside money, he made clear he was looking to make up for that lack of funding.

“If I were running in one of those districts, and I’m not getting dollars that I see going to other districts, I would feel frustrated,” Pritzker said. “There’s only so much you can do when you’re being outspent three to one or four to one nationally, and so I’m trying to do my best to fill in some of that wherever I can.”

Pritzker is not the only potential 2028er looking to woo politically powerful Black and Hispanic communities, and his day job and his own reelection bid keeps him away from the national trail — unlike some of the other senators and governors who’ve been criss-crossing the country for months. But what he lacks in time, he makes up for in money.

His spending strategy is catching the attention of senior Black Democratic leaders.

“People tend to take notice of the people who take notice of them,” said South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn.

Clyburn said he takes Pritzker “seriously” as a potential presidential candidate, but cautioned that Black voters and organizers in his home state, where Pritzker recently addressed the state NAACP’s annual convention, likely won’t be swayed by campaign contributions alone.

“We are going to take measure of candidates, not based upon how deep their pockets are, but we’re going to take measure of how deep their commitments are to those things deemed important in the African American community,” he said.

Still, the donations are helping the billionaire longtime Democratic donor and two-term governor forge new allies in key communities that could provide a boost come primary season.

“I appreciate Governor Pritzker’s willingness to invest in places others have written off,” said Jones, who also thanked the DCCC for recently adding him to their list of targeted races. “Convincing people a race is worth investing in has often been an insurmountable barrier for Black candidates.”

Pritzker’s PAC spent $2.8 million for New Mexico Democratic Rep. Gabe Vasquez and the governor made a $400,000 personal contribution into a super PAC backing Nevada gubernatorial candidate Aaron Ford, a Black candidate running in a heavily Hispanic early-voting state.

But his biggest investment of the cycle was to boost Illinois Lieutenant Governor Julianna Stratton, who he picked as his 2018 running mate when she was a little-known state representative, then invested $10 million to help her win her U.S. Senate primary this spring.

The move created some tensions: Pritzker’s endorsement of Stratton helped lift her 2026 Senate campaign significantly over two other candidates — including Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.), another Black woman who has had a strained relationship with Pritzker over the years. That frustrated several members of the Congressional Black Caucus, though he’s sought to mend fences since. Clyburn, who endorsed and campaigned for Kelly, said that race won’t “dictate future relationships when it comes to putting our party in the best position to win the elections in 2028.”

And ultimately, Stratton’s ascendance is a significant step in his outreach to Black voters nationally. He will be credited with helping send just the sixth Black woman ever to the U.S. Senate after her likely victory in November. She could be a key 2028 surrogate should he run for president.

“He really does have a platform to raise awareness of critical races that people might not otherwise pay attention to,” Stratton said. “I’m really grateful for that.”