South Carolina hasn't elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1998. Four days before the midterms, Republicans are spending real money and real presidential travel to make sure it stays that way.

President Trump returned to the state this week to campaign for Sen. Darline Graham, who was appointed in July to finish out the term of her brother, longtime Sen. Lindsey Graham, after his sudden death at 71. Gov. Henry McMaster named her to the seat the following day, making her the first woman to represent South Carolina in the U.S. Senate; she has said she won't seek a full term beyond January 2027. Graham now faces Charleston pediatrician Annie Andrews, who won the Democratic nomination in an August special primary, in a race that multiple polls now describe as effectively tied — a stunning turn in a state Trump carried by double digits.

At a rally, Graham told supporters she wouldn't let "liberals and socialists" turn the state blue, according to reporting on the campaign swing. Trump, for his part, reversed an earlier decision to skip rallies in Kansas and Iowa this weekend, adding stops there as the party tries to shore up multiple competitive Senate races simultaneously with Election Day bearing down.

Money pouring in from everywhere

The race is a window into just how much is being spent on this cycle generally. Watchdog group Public Citizen has tracked corporate political spending surging past $646 million this cycle — a record, up sharply from the 2024 presidential cycle — driven heavily by crypto, AI and Big Tech money flowing through super PACs. Separately, reporting on nationwide super PAC filings has found more than $4 billion raised this cycle from just a few hundred megadonors giving $1 million or more apiece.

A STATE TRUMP WON BY DOUBLE DIGITS, SUDDENLY IN PLAY

Neither campaign has released detailed state-specific spending figures, but South Carolina Republicans, who expected a smooth hold after Lindsey Graham's death cleared the way for an appointed incumbent, are now treating the race with the urgency of a toss-up. Andrews has leaned into healthcare and cost-of-living messaging as a pediatrician-turned-candidate; Graham has leaned on her brother's legacy and Trump's direct backing.

With early voting underway across the state and Election Day set for Tuesday, both sides say the race will come down to turnout in the Charleston and Columbia suburbs — the same areas that have drifted away from Republicans in recent South Carolina cycles even as the state as a whole has stayed red.