Rep. Nancy Mace is openly interested in Lindsey Graham's vacant Senate seat, while Politico reports top House Republicans are privately working to keep their own members from being appointed. The fight over the Senate's loudest pro-Ukraine seat now runs straight through the House majority math.
South Carolina's replacement machinery is now in motion: a temporary appointee, a special Republican primary, a November election. The process will decide more than one seat — it doubles as a test of where the Republican line on Ukraine goes next.
Graham Platner has formally filed paperwork to withdraw from Maine's Senate race, confirming what our earlier coverage flagged as likely. Democrats now have to pick a fresh challenger to Susan Collins fast — and the outcome matters well beyond Maine, since the Senate's margin shapes votes on Ukraine funding, NATO commitments and sanctions policy.
Graham Platner ended his Maine Senate campaign Wednesday night after a woman alleged he forced her to have sex, a claim he denies. Democrats now scramble to field a replacement against Sen. Susan Collins in a race central to the fight for Senate control.