Andre Bauer, the former lieutenant governor of South Carolina, launched his bid on Wednesday to replace Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). Bauer had hinted at the move in an exclusive interview with the Washington Examiner last week.

The Palmetto State’s senior senator has faced primary challenges before, and multiple challengers helped lead to a split in the anti-Graham vote.

"As a proven conservative fighter, I will unapologetically stand with President Trump and the America First agenda and will fight to put South Carolina first," André Bauer said.

State Rep. RJ May was a founding member of the South Carolina hard-line conservative group. He was a lead strategist and often the target of ire in the House.

South Carolina is one of just two states where the legislature elects judges. Changes designed to address that and boost public confidence in the state’s court system went into effect Tuesday, resulting from a judicial reform bill Gov.

Gov. Henry McMaster signed the judicial reform bill into law last year – but it didn’t go into effect until Tuesday. It keeps in place the general structure of how judges are picked in South Carolina – including retaining the legislature’s authority to select the judiciary – while making changes to within that system.

President Donald Trump's 2024 co-campaign manager Chris LaCivita joined Sen. Lindsey Graham's (R-SC) re-election campaign as an adviser on Monday.

Hopefully, Sen. Thom Tillis is warning Republican colleagues about potential political ramifications as a ploy to get them to do the right thing. | Opinion

In an X post after publication, Alex Latcham, who oversaw Trump campaign operations in South Carolina, disputed Bauer’s claim of support as “bulls***.” Lacham is now executive director of the Senate Leadership Fund, the outside group that protects GOP incumbents.

Republican state Sen. Josh Kimbrell officially kicked off his gubernatorial campaign with an event in his home district in Spartanburg County.

Trump's 2024 co-campaign manager, Chris LaCivita, is set to join SC Sen. Lindsey Graham's re-election campaign as an adviser.