Senator Lindsey Graham (image via CNN)
I get it. No one likes Senator Lindsey Graham.
He gets a lot of hate on social media, and let’s be honest, with good reason. He spoke out against Trump during the primaries, saying this:
Yet today, he often acts like Trump’s biggest lackey. He used to be John McCain’s best friend, but then mounted no defense of his friend when Trump repeatedly attacked McCain. He has been as partisan as one gets on Fox News and other media outlets.
You often hear people ask, “What happened to Lindsey Graham?”
Despite all this, his re-election prospects in South Carolina has looked solid. He’s been rated as “Safe Republican” by the various elections ratings groups since the beginning. They don’t see that his seat is in danger. And I’ve spoken about flipping the Senate a lot here at Political Charge, and have said that I don’t think trying to flip Graham’s seat is the smartest investment.
But this week a few things happened that’s making me wonder if the winds are shifting.
First, one of Graham’s donors wrote a public op-ed announcing that he was not going to back Graham anymore, and why. Opinion: Why I endorse challenger Harrison over Sen. Lindsey Graham A key line: “What is the character of a man who will not defend his best friend? If he won’t defend John McCain, why would I expect him to defend any of us in South Carolina?”
Second, I checked and found out that Sabato’s Crystal Ball, one of the top ratings organizations, had moved Graham’s race rating. They downgraded it from “Safe Republican” to “Likely Republican.” So of the many data points they consider to create the rating, they see that support for Graham is softening.
And finally, yesterday I read that a group of Democratic operatives has organized a new super PAC to target Lindsey Graham. It’s called “Lindsey Must Go” and is solely focused on attacking Graham. They aren’t boosting his opponent, Jaime Harrison. You wouldn’t expect a group like this to pop up, or already have raised $1M, if this seat was a lost cause.
You can support Jaime Harrison by volunteering with his campaign, donating, or amplifying his social media messages.
So these three things all happening in the same week does have me pondering. If I had to place a bet, I’d still bet on the top 9 Senate races being the ones that help us take control of the Senate. But I’ll be curious to watch if Graham’s race continues to soften.
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Categories: Elections
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