Dr. Annie Andrews beat appointed Sen. Darline Graham to flip South Carolina’s Senate seat — the first Democrat to win a Senate election in the state since 1998.
Annie Andrews is a children’s doctor, not a career politician. For 14 years she worked at MUSC Children’s Hospital in Charleston, treating sick children as a pediatric hospitalist and teaching as a professor of pediatrics.
Andrews, 45, grew up in Indianapolis and earned her medical degree from the University of Cincinnati. She is a mother of three. In 2022 she ran for Congress in the Charleston area and lost to Rep. Nancy Mace. That loss did not end her run at public office.
The seat she won was held for decades by Lindsey Graham, who died in July. Gov. Henry McMaster appointed Graham’s sister, Darline Graham, to fill it. Andrews beat her on Tuesday.
Her win is a first in two ways: she is the first Democrat to win a Senate election in South Carolina since Fritz Hollings in 1998, and the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from the state. Watch how a doctor who built her name on children’s health votes on health care in Washington.
Fast facts
- Age: 45
- Party: Democratic
- Office: U.S. Senator
- State: South Carolina
- Previous job: Pediatrician and professor of pediatrics at MUSC Children’s Hospital, Charleston
- Called by AP: Nov. 3, 2026
Part of the Zark News Election 2026 winners profile series. Winners are listed as called by the Associated Press.
