I was stunned by news of the sudden death of Lindsey Graham, especially so close to the sudden influx of conjecture surrounding the health of Mitch McConnell. Although Lindsey hadn’t looked a hundred per cent for at least a decade, the news was unexpected.
But the shock I felt when I saw the Politizoom headline would’ve been nothing compared to that of South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, the state Republican Party and the US Senate Republicans who were already in a panic over McConnell before this news broke.
There will be suitable but brief memorial sentences from those politically close to him, suitable because of the occasion, and brief because they now have an empty Senate seat and an oncoming election train without a Republican candidate on board a month after the primary on June 9.
At issue now is not just who will replace Lindsey in the interim, but who will replace him on the Midterm ballot. We know the answer to the first part thanks to timely reporting by South Carolina’s KCRA3 News:
According to South Carolina law, Gov. Henry McMaster will appoint a temporary replacement to fill Graham’s seat until Jan. 3 of next year.
Unlike some states, South Carolina does not generally require the governor to appoint someone from the same political party as the senator who left office. That gives the governor broad discretion in choosing a temporary replacement.
Of course, Governor McMaster will choose a Republican. That’s the one absolute certainty we have at this early stage. If he doesn’t already have someone in mind, about five dozen people will have contacted him by now with their recommendations. The only possibilities he needs to avoid are US House candidates who won their June 9 primaries. It’s going to be tough enough organising one special election at such short notice, let alone two.
And that brings us neatly round to what South Carolina law requires when it comes to substituting one name on the Midterm ballot with another after the primary has already been held. Thanks to KCRA3 News we have the answer to that too:
Now, a special primary must be held by Aug. 11, according to state election laws, to find a replacement nominee.
August 11. A glance at the calendar tells me that’s a mere month away. That gives the South Carolina Republican Party one month to organise:
- setting deadlines for every stage of the special election process
- providing candidates with official paperwork so they can meet the deadline for filing
- printing special election ballots after the slate of candidates has been finalised
- early voting at state government and county offices
- postal voting
- in-person voting which will necessitate…
- notifying voters in advance
- setting up voting locations
- getting voting machines and tabulators out of storage, reprogramming them and certifying them
- staffing the locations
Meantime, candidates for the special election will be staggering under a heavy workload of their own that may include the first and will include the second and third:
- submitting petitions with a prescribed number of signatures
- completing official paperwork before the filing deadline
- reanimating their campaigns, which in itself is going to be a race against time.
The New York Times result for the June 9 primary shows us who is most likely to put up their hands for the special election:
It’s an enormous amount of work in a very short amount of time and could well end up being an absolute shit show. But, however it turns out, you can be sure we’ll write it up so you can enjoy reading about it.
If they do pull off a special election in time, the person who wins it will be facing the Democratic nominee Dr Annie Andrews in November. This extra month without an opponent may be a boon for Dr Andrews. If independent pro-democracy media like Meidas Touch, Lincoln Square and The Bulwark get behind her and raise her profile, she could have a real chance in November. You can help by asking your favourite podcasters to get her on their shows. Exercise your people power and let’s all help raise Dr Annie’s profile nationwide!
