Trump Uses Anti-Trans Slur Against Annie Andrews as South Carolina Senate Race Tightens

Donald Trump has used an anti-trans slur to attack Annie Andrews, the Democratic nominee for the United States Senate in South Carolina, in a post published as polls show the contest tightening.

The US president put the message on Truth Social on Monday, repeating a version of the slur three times while urging voters to back the Republican incumbent, Darline Graham. Andrews is not transgender.

'Annie "Trannie" Andrews is running against our wonderful Darline Graham for the Senate in South Carolina,' Trump wrote, opening a long post that mixed personal tribute with a list of grievances.

Andrews had been preparing a very different race. She won the Democratic nomination in June and was set to challenge Lindsey Graham, the state's long-serving senator. His sudden death in July upended the contest, and she now faces his sister instead.

The Seat Darline Graham Inherited

Lindsey Graham died on 11 July at the age of 71, with a preliminary medical examination pointing to a torn aorta. Within days, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster appointed Darline Graham, who had never held elected office, to serve out the rest of his term. She became the first woman to represent the state in the Senate.

But first she had to win the nomination. Graham beat Congressman Ralph Norman in a Republican runoff on 25 August, taking 52.5% after no candidate reached a majority in the initial primary. Trump drove that effort. His MAGA Inc. political action committee spent more than $800,000 (around £590,000) on her behalf, and he appeared alongside her on the trail.

In Monday's post, he leaned on his friendship with the late senator. 'For years my dear friend Lindsey would say that, "Darline is the finest, most reliable, and one of the smartest people I have ever known,"' he wrote.

Then he turned back to Andrews. Trump claimed she favours 'Transgender for Everyone, Open Borders, Defunding the Police, High Taxes, a Weak Military,' and would curb gun rights. 'Trannie is not for South Carolina, and South Carolina must show, in the upcoming Election, that it is not for her,' he wrote. He closed by telling voters that Graham had his 'complete and total endorsement.'

Andrews, a paediatrician and mother of three, did not engage with the insult. 'As a mom and a paediatrician, I'm in this race to fight for my patients, my three kids, and South Carolina,' she said in a statement, adding that improving life for families 'is going to take all of us working together.'

Republicans have attacked Andrews over transgender policy throughout the campaign, pointing to her past support for hormone treatment for children. She has said she does not support gender-identity surgery for minors. Graham, who has built her campaign around Trump's backing, did not publicly respond to the post.

Condemnation came from both parties. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the attack 'despicable', writing on X that Andrews was 'exactly who South Carolina needs representing them in the Senate.' David Beasley, a former Republican governor, went further. 'This is abhorrent. South Carolina deserves better,' he wrote, urging voters to reject politics built on division and hate.

Polls Point to a Tightening Race

South Carolina has not sent a Democrat to the Senate since 1998, and forecasters still favour Graham. The margins, though, have narrowed. An InsiderAdvantage survey of 1,200 likely voters, conducted on 28 and 29 September, put Graham at 46% and Andrews at 45%, within the poll's margin of error. A separate Trafalgar Group poll gave Graham a lead of barely a point, with Andrews ahead among women and among voters under 50.

The forecasters have taken note. The Cook Political Report moved the race from 'Solid Republican' to 'Likely Republican' in late September, noting a grassroots push by some conservatives to write in Norman.

South Carolina votes on 3 November, with Graham seeking a full six-year term in the seat she was handed in July, and Andrews trying to flip it.