南卡罗来纳州罗克希尔——今年夏天，达琳·格雷厄姆（Darline Graham）刚刚宣誓就职，以完成她已故哥哥的参议院剩余任期，当时她就在椭圆形办公室里，试图说服总统特朗普支持林赛·格雷厄姆的对俄制裁法案。
ROCK HILL, S.C.—Darline Graham had just been sworn in to finish her late brother’s Senate term this summer when she was in the Oval Office trying to coax President Trump to support Lindsey Graham’s Russia sanctions bill.
格雷厄姆在一次采访中表示，特朗普当时很不情愿，但她的哥哥一直对该法案念念不忘。格雷厄姆告诉总统，他可以把任何政治后果归咎于一个悲伤的妹妹。特朗普轻笑了一声，对她说：“你很强硬。”她表示，正是在那时，特朗普邀请她竞选完整的六年任期，而她此前并未考虑过这一点。
Trump was reluctant, but her brother had been obsessed with the bill, Graham said in an interview. Graham told the president that he could blame a grieving sister for any fallout. Trump chuckled and told her, “You’re tough.”She said it was then that Trump asked her to run for the full six-year term, something she said she hadn’t previously considered.
特朗普后来叫停了大部分制裁，这让格雷厄姆私下感到失望。她在南卡罗来纳州的命运现在与这位总统绑在了一起。
Trump later halted most of the sanctions, leaving Graham privately disappointed. Her fate in South Carolina was now tied to the president’s.
公开和内部民调显示，格雷厄姆与她的民主党对手、儿科医生安妮·安德鲁斯（Dr. Annie Andrews）势均力敌或落后于对方，这使得棕榈州出现了数十年来未有的竞争态势。在10月的前两周，格雷厄姆筹集了不到60万美元，而身为儿科医生和枪支安全倡导者的安德鲁斯则筹集了450万美元。安德鲁斯还获得了该州一些知名共和党人的背书，其中包括前州长大卫·比斯利（David Beasley）。
Public and internal polls show Graham tied with, or trailing, her Democratic rival, Dr. Annie Andrews, making the Palmetto State competitive in a way it hasn’t been for decades. In the first two weeks of October, Graham raised less than $600,000, while Andrews, a pediatrician and gun safety advocate, raised $4.5 million. Andrews has also picked up endorsements from some of the state’s prominent Republicans, including former Gov. David Beasley.