Sen. Tim Scott on Sunday threw his support behind former Rep. Trey Gowdy to fill the Senate seat left vacant by the sudden death of South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham.
Scott, who appeared on Gowdy’s Fox News show Sunday night, has already made a round of calls pitching the former prosecutor as a possible short-term pick to serve out the remaining months of Graham’s term, which expires at the end of this year. Scott and Gowdy have long had a close relationship, beginning when the two were first elected to Congress in 2010, and authored a book together that was published in 2018.
Gowdy served in the House from 2011 to 2019. He gained national attention during his time as chair of the House select committee investigating then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s response to the 2012 attack on the U.S. government compound in Benghazi, Libya.
Despite Scott’s support for Gowdy, it remains unclear who will serve out the remainder of Graham’s term. Graham — who was elected to the Senate in 2002 — died Saturday from a heart condition called aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease, according to a preliminary examination by the District of Columbia’s medical examiner released Sunday. He was 71.
Gowdy is not the only name floating as a possible replacement for Graham. South Carolina Republican Gov. Henry McMaster is leaning in a different direction and could move early this week, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump on Sunday hinted that he has “somebody that I think would be great,” though he did not say who. Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, an ally of the governor, has also been discussed as a potential successor.
South Carolina Republicans will hold a special primary election in August to replace Graham, who had already been nominated to run for reelection in November. The winner will face off against Annie Andrews, a doctor who won the Democratic primary earlier this year.
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