Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) seems to be vulnerable in his home state of South Carolina’s Republican primary, a Lynch for Senate poll commissioned with Pulse Opinion Research found.
The top lines of the survey spell bad news for Graham, as 57 percent of Republican primary voters in his state “would not vote for Lindsey Graham if the election were held today,” according to the press release.
The poll found that likely voters in South Carolina are “dissatisfied with Lindsey Graham and are just as likely to vote for a more conservative, America First candidate.”
When put up against Mark Lynch — a businessman who announced his campaign for Graham’s seat earlier this year — Graham still failed to garner majority support, as 43 percent said they would support him compared to 29 percent for Lynch. However, nearly a quarter, 23 percent, remain unsure — more than enough to swing the race.
Additionally, when presented with Graham’s record, just 37 percent of likely GOP primary voters in the state said they would vote for him, while 28 percent remain unsure.
Another positive for Lynch, president and owner of Jeff Lynch Appliance Center, is the finding that 60 percent of likely primary voters in South Carolina believe a successful businessman would do a better job as a political leader than a career politician. Another 20 percent say a career politician would do better, and 20 percent remain unsure.
The survey was taken May 15-21, 2025, among 1,062 likely voters in South Carolina.
Lynch said in a statement that now is the time President Donald Trump needs politicians around him he can trust to enact his MAGA agenda for the American people.
“At a time when the career politicians in D.C. are digging in their heels, and despite the fact that Trump needs all the allies he can get in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House,” he said, highlighting a few key issues with the incumbent.
“Lindsey Graham voted against codifying Trump’s and Elon’s DOGE reforms. He’s working behind the scenes to scuttle Trump’s nominees. He just recently voted to send more cash to Ukraine with USAID, and Lindsey even pushed budget legislation Trump publicly opposes,” he added.
Graham, who has served in the Senate for over two decades, has maintained that he is an America First ally, touting his endorsement from Trump in March.
UPDATE 8:49 p.m. ET:
After publication of this story, Graham’s campaign responded to the poll and Lynch’s statement pointing to Trump’s endorsement of Graham–which the president made earlier this year ahead of next year’s election. “Mark Lynch’s poll is fake news,” a Graham campaign spokesperson told Breitbart News. “In response to ‘Lynch said in a statement that now is the time President Donald Trump needs politicians around him he can trust to enact his MAGA agenda for the American people.’ We agree. That’s exactly why President Trump has given Senator Graham his ‘Complete and Total Endorsement.’”
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