这是总统唐纳德·特朗普两个月内第二次前往南卡罗来纳州，试图拯救一个直到最近还被共和党人认为稳操胜券的参议院席位。
For the second time in two months, President Donald Trump is heading to South Carolina to try to save a Senate seat Republicans considered safe until recently.
这个一向坚定的红色堡垒自1998年以来就没有选出过民主党联邦参议员。但共和党参议员达琳·格雷厄姆正与民主党人安妮·安德鲁斯展开一场意料之外的激烈竞选，共和党正在该州竞选的最后冲刺阶段投入大量资金和人力。他们面临着十分艰巨的任务。
The reliably red bastion hasn’t elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1998. But Republican Sen. Darline Graham is locked in an unexpectedly close race with Democrat Annie Andrews, and the GOP is pouring money and manpower into South Carolina in the campaign’s final stretch. They have their work cut out.
特朗普周三在克莱姆森举行的集会正值该党处于岌岌可危的时刻。周二，《库克政治报告》将这场竞选从“大概率属于共和党”调整为“倾向共和党”。这是该机构最近几周第二次下调共和党对该席位的掌控预期，此前不久公布的最新民调显示双方选情胶着。
Trump’s rally Wednesday in Clemson comes at a precarious moment for the party. On Tuesday, the Cook Political Report shifted the race from “likely Republican” to “lean Republican.”It was the outlet’s second downgrade of Republicans’ grip on the seat in recent weeks, and comes as recent polls show a close contest.
这场竞选从一开始就如同坐过山车一般。在参议员林赛·格雷厄姆令人震惊的逝世后，共和党人仓促团结在其被任命接替该席位的妹妹达琳周围。随后，在8月18日一场关乎重大的辩论中，她表示自己“对国家安全没有那么了解”，从而引发了一场手忙脚乱的善后努力。该州的共和党人对问题所在有着清醒的认识。
The race has been a rollercoaster from the start. After the shocking death of Sen. Lindsey Graham, Republicans scrambled to coalesce around his sister, Darline, who was appointed to the seat. Then, during a high-stakes debate on Aug. 18, she said she was “not that informed on national security,” setting off a frenzied effort to pick up the pieces. Republicans in the state are clear-eyed about where the problem lies.
一位南卡罗来纳州共和党官员在谈到格雷厄姆时对MS NOW表示：“毫无疑问，选票领衔候选人存在拖后腿的现象。”
“There’s no question that there’s a drag at the top of the ticket,” one South Carolina GOP official told MS NOW, referring to Graham.
这位因需要坦诚谈论竞选而要求匿名的官员表示，在竞选已到如此晚期的时候，共和党人并没有像应有的那样团结在格雷厄姆身后。
The official, who requested anonymity to speak candidly about the race, said Republicans aren’t as united behind Graham as they should be this late in the campaign.
这位官员说：“有些选民在投第三方候选人的票，有些选民把票投给了别处，而且共和党选民对她的凝聚力似乎没有那么强。”
“There are voters who are voting third party, there are the voters who are voting elsewhere, and there doesn’t seem to be as much cohesion amongst the Republican electorate around her,” the official said.
民调显示，这并非南卡罗来纳州的问题，而是格雷厄姆个人的问题。共和党民调机构特拉法尔加集团10月的一项调查显示，格雷厄姆仅以3个百分点领先，得票率为49%对46%。同一个月，特拉法尔加发现，共和党州长提名人艾伦·威尔逊以16个百分点领先民主党人杰梅因·约翰逊，得票率为52.5%对36.5%。
The polls suggest it’s not a South Carolina problem, but rather a Graham problem. An October survey from Trafalgar Group, a Republican polling firm, found Graham leading by just three percentage points, 49 percent to 46 percent. That same month, Trafalgar found Alan Wilson, the GOP nominee for governor, ahead of Democrat Jermaine Johnson by 16 points, 52.5 percent to 36.5 percent.
共和党的资金投入与此相匹配。本月初，与参议院多数党领袖约翰·图恩（共和党-南达科他州）关系密切的超级政治行动委员会“参议院领导力基金”，在竞选进入白热化之际，临阵投入了500万美元。据广告追踪公司AdImpact统计，自8月18日辩论以来，共和党在该竞选上的支出已超过2250万美元，而民主党为1710万美元。
Republicans are spending accordingly. Earlier this month, the Senate Leadership Fund, the super PAC aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., put a last-minute $5 million into the race as nerves hit overdrive. Since the Aug. 18 debate, Republicans have spent more than $22.5 million on the race, compared with $17.1 million from Democrats, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact.
一些共和党人认为，在国会两院控制权均悬而未决的年份，在南卡罗来纳州花一分钱都是一种浪费。
To some Republicans, spending a single dollar in South Carolina is a waste in a year when control of both chambers of Congress is up for grabs.
“我们竟然不得不在该州花钱，这是政治渎职，”这位共和党官员说。该官员辩称，这些资金应投入摇摆州，而非这个深红州。
“It’s political malpractice that we’re even having to spend money in the state,” the GOP official said. That money, the official argued, belongs in battleground states, not a ruby-red one.
“南卡罗来纳州不应该是我们必须花钱来巩固共和党提名人的州，”该官员说。“这些钱在其他州用得更好，但我们身处于此，目前只能打好手中的这副牌。”
“South Carolina should not be a state where we have to spend money to shore up a Republican nominee,” the official said. “That money is better used in other states, but we are here, and this is the cards that we have to play right now.”
特朗普是该党的另一项重大投资。克莱姆森位于该州的“上州”地区，共和党众议员拉尔夫·诺曼在8月初选中在该地区占据主导地位。诺曼分别以16和15个百分点的优势拿下了包含克莱姆森的皮肯斯县和安德森县。
Trump is the party’s other big investment. Clemson sits in the state’s Upstate region, territory Republican Rep. Ralph Norman dominated in the August primary. Norman carried Pickens and Anderson, the two counties that include Clemson, by 16 and 15 percentage points, respectively.
有迹象表明这种策略奏效了。在今夏的特别初选中，格雷厄姆在霍里县（默特尔比奇所在地）以35%对42%位居第二，输给代表该地区的共和党众议员拉塞尔·弗赖。在特朗普在那里举行集会且弗赖背书她之后，格雷厄姆在决选中赢得了73%的选票。
There is some evidence the approach works. In this summer’s special primary, Graham finished second in Horry County, home to Myrtle Beach, with 35 percent to 42 percent for GOP Rep. Russell Fry, who represents the area. After Trump rallied there and Fry endorsed her, Graham won 73 percent of the vote in the runoff.
南卡罗来纳州共和党内部人士表示，特朗普本周前往该州北部地区造势是“明智之举”，并指出霍里县的投票率。
A source in South Carolina Republican politics said Trump’s visit to the northern part of the state this week is “wise,” pointing to the Horry County turnout.
“这将有助于在大选前夕点燃该州最保守地区的热情，”该人士说。“我认为这会有很大帮助。”但特朗普的背书作用有限。尽管获得了他的背书，格雷厄姆未能提前锁定提名，被迫进入决选。周三的行程还有一个尴尬的支线情节。
“It’s gonna help fire up the most conservative part of the state right before the election,” the source said. “I think it’ll help a lot.”But Trump’s backing only goes so far. Despite his endorsement, Graham couldn’t lock down the nomination early and was forced into a runoff. There’s also an awkward subplot to Wednesday’s trip.
格雷厄姆抵达华盛顿后，成为一项对俄伊实施制裁法案的代表性人物，接过了她哥哥未竟的事业。国会通过了该法案，特朗普将其签署成法。这是这位新参议员的一项重大成就，她经常引用此事作为证明自己能办成事的证据，尤其是在辩论后面临关于资质的质疑时。
When she arrived in Washington, Graham became the face of a bill imposing sanctions on Russia and Iran, picking up where her brother left off. Congress passed it, and Trump signed it into law. It was a major achievement for the new senator, and one she frequently cited as proof she could get things done, especially as she fielded questions about her qualifications after the debate.
但本周早些时候，特朗普签署了一项行政命令，豁免俄罗斯的制裁，实际上掏空了她的标志性成就。
But earlier this week, Trump signed an executive order exempting Russia from the sanctions, gutting her signature achievement.
被问及此举时，格雷厄姆表示，该立法“是他可以用来做这件事的工具之一”，并补充道：“是否选择使用，由他决定。”她也明确表示了不同意见。
Asked about the move, Graham said the legislation is “one of the tools he can use to do that,” adding: “It’s up to him whether or not he chooses to use it.”She also made clear she disagreed.
“就我个人而言，我会选择继续对俄罗斯施压……因为我不信任普京，也不信任俄罗斯，”格雷厄姆说。
“Personally, I would choose to keep the pressure on Russia … because I don’t trust Putin, and I don’t trust Russia,” Graham said.
与此同时，这场竞选已进入白热化阶段。本月早些时候，特朗普在“真实社交”上攻击安德鲁斯，对她使用了一个针对跨性别者的贬损性称呼，并写道她不代表“南卡罗来纳州伟大人民的价值观”，而且“不适合南卡罗来纳州”。
Meanwhile, the campaign has reached a fever pitch. Earlier this month, Trump attacked Andrews on Truth Social, using an anti-transgender slur against her and writing that she does not represent the “values of the great people of South Carolina” and “is not for South Carolina.”
安德鲁斯对格林维尔电视台WYFF表示，她早就看出特朗普的攻击“迟早会来”。
Andrews told WYFF, a Greenville TV station, that she saw the attacks from Trump “coming at some point.”
“我认为他们想以此分散我的注意力，但这不会成为干扰，”她说，“我是一名自律、勤奋的候选人，在竞选投入和筹款上都超过我的对手。这就是为什么像总统这样的全国性人物会介入。”特朗普很可能会在周三继续这些攻击，并明确表明他认为这场选举关系重大。
“I think they want it to be a distraction for me, but it’s not going to be a distraction,” she said. “I am a disciplined, hard-working candidate who is outhustling and out-fundraising my opponent. That’s why national figures like the President are getting involved.”Trump is likely to keep up those attacks on Wednesday and to make clear how much he sees riding on the race.
在上周为格雷厄姆举行的一场电话集会上，他重复了本轮竞选周期中他最爱说的一句话：“就假装我也在选票上。”在南卡罗来纳州，这句话比往常更接近事实。林赛·格雷厄姆去世后，特朗普游说州长亨利·麦克马斯特（共和党）任命达琳·格雷厄姆填补该席位，公开鼓励她竞选完整的六年任期，并在她参选后为她背书。她的竞选成败在此一举。特朗普的信誉同样如此。“基本上，”特朗普在电话集会上说，“我也在选票上。”
At a tele-rally for Graham last week, he repeated his favorite refrain of the cycle: “Just pretend I’m on the ballot.”In South Carolina, that’s closer to the truth than usual. After Lindsey Graham’s death, Trump lobbied Gov. Henry McMaster (R) to appoint Darline Graham to the seat, publicly encouraged her to run for the full six-year term and endorsed her once she entered the race. Her bid is on the line. So is Trump’s credibility. “Essentially,” Trump said at the tele-rally, “I am on the ballot.”