2026年7月13日 / 美国东部时间下午12:45 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
华盛顿讯 —— 南卡罗来纳州联邦参议员林赛·格雷厄姆周六晚间突发去世，引发了谁将接替他在参议院任职的激烈角逐，一批共和党候选人已迅速组建阵营，准备在11月的参议院选举中接替他的职位。
除了将在未来几周内举行的共和党特别初选之外，南卡罗来纳州州长、共和党人亨利·麦克马斯特将首先任命一名临时继任者，填补格雷厄姆剩余的任期，该任期将于2027年1月3日结束。据熟悉该决定的消息人士向哥伦比亚广播公司新闻透露，已故参议员的姐姐达琳·格雷厄姆·诺多内将成为麦克马斯特的任命人选。
州长将于周一下午4点宣布这一任命。
此外，11月的中期选举 ballot 上将举行一场特别选举，以填补已故参议员的空缺。格雷厄姆当时正寻求连任第五届参议院任期，并在6月初的南卡罗来纳州共和党参议院初选中获得了超过56%的选票。
有意角逐格雷厄姆参议院席位的共和党候选人有一周的报名时间，即7月21日至7月28日，特别初选定于8月11日举行。如果没有候选人获得多数选票，则将于8月25日进行第二轮决选。
获胜者将进入11月3日的大选，与民主党人安妮·安德鲁斯角逐六年任期的参议员席位。
格雷厄姆是南卡罗来纳州政坛的重量级人物，也是参议院的关键人物，享年71岁时突发去世。哥伦比亚特区法医的初步调查结果显示，这名参议员死于动脉粥样硬化性心血管疾病引发的主动脉夹层。
以下是可能接替格雷厄姆的候选人：
副州长帕梅拉·埃维特
副州长帕梅拉·埃维特曾是南卡罗来纳州州长竞选的众多候选人之一，并成功晋级该选举的第二轮决选。但最终未能如愿，输给了获得州长共和党提名的总检察长艾伦·威尔逊。这位副州长曾获得特朗普的背书，不过特朗普后来在决选中同时支持了她和威尔逊。
埃维特是南卡罗来纳州首位女性副州长。在当选该职位之前，埃维特曾在私营部门工作，创立了薪资管理公司Quality Business Solutions, Inc.。
据两名熟悉相关讨论的共和党消息人士向哥伦比亚广播公司新闻透露，埃维特近期收到了大量电话和短信，敦促她竞选格雷厄姆留下的这个开放席位。周一当被问及是否会考虑参选接替格雷厄姆时，埃维特告诉哥伦比亚广播公司新闻，在他去世后如此迅速地转向政治讨论“令人沮丧”。她补充道：“时候到了自然会有定论。”
众议员南希·梅斯
今年早些时候竞选州长未果的众议员南希·梅斯也被提及为潜在候选人。梅斯周日告诉哥伦比亚广播公司新闻，如果她“至少不考虑”竞选这个开放的参议院席位，那将是“失职”。
周日早些时候，梅斯在X平台上发布了一段时长五秒的电影《教父3》片段，其中阿尔·帕西诺饰演的迈克尔·科莱昂说道：“正当我以为自己全身而退时，他们又把我拉了回去。”
梅斯是2020年当选以来首位代表南卡罗来纳州进入国会的共和党女性。此后，她以共和党激进派的身份崭露头角，是推动特朗普政府公布对定罪性犯罪者杰弗里·爱泼斯坦的联邦调查文件的核心人物之一。
她原本计划竞选州长而非寻求连任众议院席位，因此她的第三届众议院任期将于明年年初结束。她在共和党初选中排名第五。
梅斯此前曾在2014年挑战格雷厄姆，竞选参议院席位，当时也在共和党初选中排名第五。
众议员拉尔夫·诺曼
和梅斯与埃维特一样，众议员拉尔夫·诺曼也参加了共和党州长初选。他在该竞选中排名第三，仅次于埃维特和威尔逊，获得了17%的选票。他在州长竞选中获得了前南卡罗来纳州州长妮基·黑利的背书。
诺曼在2024年共和党总统初选中支持黑利，而非特朗普。
自2017年以来，诺曼一直代表南卡罗来纳州第五国会选区进入众议院，是保守派议员团体“自由核心小组”的成员。在当选国会议员之前，诺曼曾在南卡罗来纳州众议院任职，并且是一名房地产开发商。
众议员拉塞尔·弗莱
两名共和党消息人士向哥伦比亚广播公司新闻透露，南卡罗来纳州共和党人也在鼓励众议员拉塞尔·弗莱参选。
弗莱于2022年当选众议院议员，代表一个稳固的共和党选区，这使得共和党在11月的中期选举中极有可能保住他的众议院席位。他此前曾在南卡罗来纳州议会任职。
州长亨利·麦克马斯特
如果任命一名所谓的“临时 caretaker”填补格雷厄姆剩余的任期，州长亨利·麦克马斯特也可能宣布参选格雷厄姆的参议院席位。
麦克马斯特自2017年起担任州长，当时他被任命完成黑利剩余的州长任期，此前黑利在特朗普第一任期内获确认为美国驻联合国大使。麦克马斯特于2018年当选完整任期的州长，并在2022年成功连任。
麦克马斯特的州长任期将于明年1月结束。他与南卡罗来纳州政坛渊源深厚，曾担任该州共和党主席近十年。麦克马斯特于2002年当选南卡罗来纳州总检察长，2014年当选副州长。
梅杰·加勒特、芬恩·丹尼尔·戈麦斯和亚伦·纳瓦罗对本文亦有贡献。
Who could replace Lindsey Graham in the Senate after his sudden death?
July 13, 2026 / 12:45 PM EDT / CBS News
Washington — South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham’s sudden death late Saturday has set off a scramble for who will succeed him in the Senate, with a field of GOP candidates aiming to replace him in the November Senate election swiftly shaping up.
Separate from a special Republican primary that will take place in the coming weeks, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, a Republican, will first appoint a temporary replacement to serve out the rest of Graham’s term, which ends Jan. 3, 2027. The late senator’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, will be McMasters’ pick to serve out the rest of his term, sources familiar with the decision told CBS News.
The governor is set to announce the pick at 4 p.m. Monday.
There will also be a special election held to replace the late senator on the ballot for the general election in November. Graham was seeking a fifth term in the Senate and secured more than 56% of the vote in the South Carolina Republican Senate primary in early June.
Republicans who will vie for Graham’s Senate seat have one week — from July 21 to July 28 — to file to run, and a special primary election is set to take place Aug. 11. If no candidate secures a majority of the vote, a runoff will be held on Aug. 25.
The winner will advance to the Nov. 3 general election, taking on Democrat Annie Andrews in the fight for a six-year term.
Graham, a giant in South Carolina politics and a key figure in the Senate, died suddenly at the age of 71 Saturday. Preliminary findings from the District of Columbia’s medical examiner showed that the senator died of aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
Here are the potential candidates to replace Graham:
Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette
Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette was among the crowded field of candidates for South Carolina governor and advanced to a runoff election in the race. But she fell short, losing to Attorney General Alan Wilson, who secured the GOP nomination for governor. The lieutenant governor had won Mr. Trump’s endorsement in the GOP primary, though the president went on to back both her and Wilson in the runoff.
Evette is the first woman to serve as lieutenant governor in South Carolina. Before she was elected to the role, Evette worked in the private sector, having founded the payroll management company Quality Business Solutions, Inc.
Evette has been inundated with calls and texts urging her to run for the now-open seat that was held by Graham, two GOP sources familiar with the discussions told CBS News. Asked whether she would consider a bid to replace Graham, Evette told CBS News on Monday that it was “disheartenting” that the conversation had turned so quickly to politics after his passing. She added, “There’ll be a time for that.”
Rep. Nancy Mace
Rep. Nancy Mace, who fell short in her bid for the governor’s mansion earlier this year, has also been floated as a possible candidate. Mace told CBS News on Sunday that she would “be remiss” if she didn’t “at least consider” a bid for the open Senate seat.
Earlier Sunday, Mace posted on X a five-second clip from the movie “The Godfather Part III” that shows Michael Corleone, played by Al Pacino, declaring, “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.”
Mace became the first Republican woman to represent South Carolina in Congress when she was elected in 2020. Since then, she’s made a name for herself as a GOP firebrand and was a leading figure in the fight for the Trump administration to release files from the federal investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Her third term in the House expires early next year, after she opted for a gubernatorial bid instead of seeking reelection. She finished fifth in the Republican primary.
Mace previously sought a Senate seat, launching a bid against Graham in 2014. She came in fifth in that GOP primary, too.
Rep. Ralph Norman
Like Mace and Evette, Rep. Ralph Norman was a candidate in the Republican primary for governor. He placed third in the race, behind Evette and Wilson, securing 17% of the vote. He was backed by former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in the gubernatorial race.
Norman supported Haley over Mr. Trump in the 2024 GOP presidential primary.
Norman has represented South Carolina’s 5th Congressional District in the House since 2017 and is a member of the Freedom Caucus, a group of conservative lawmakers. Before he was elected to Congress, Norman served in the South Carolina House and was a real estate developer.
Rep. Russell Fry
Rep. Russell Fry is also being encouraged to run by South Carolina Republicans, two Republican sources told CBS News.
Fry, who was elected to the House in 2022, represents a solidly Republican district, giving the GOP a strong chance of retaining his seat in the House in the November midterm elections. He previously served in South Carolina’s General Assembly.
Gov. Henry McMaster
Gov. Henry McMaster could also launch a bid for Graham’s Senate seat, should a so-called caretaker be appointed to fill the remainder of Graham’s term.
McMaster has been in the governor’s mansion since 2017, when he was appointed to finish out Haley’s term after she was confirmed as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during Mr. Trump’s first administration. McMaster was elected to a full term as governor in 2018, and then won reelection in 2022.
McMaster’s term as governor is up in January. He has deep ties to South Carolina politics, having served as chairman of the state Republican Party for nearly a decade. McMaster was elected South Carolina’s attorney general in 2002, and then lieutenant governor in 2014.
Major Garrett, Fin Daniel Gómez and Aaron Navarro contributed to this report.
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