Darline Graham defends her résumé in South Carolina debate after saying ‘national security is not my thing’

Sen. Darline Graham and Rep. Ralph Norman traded criticism over experience, ambition, campaign finance and policy positions in a Senate primary debate Tuesday in South Carolina, one week before Republican primary voters choose a nominee to replace Graham's brother, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, on the ballot this fall.

While Graham, a political newcomer, went on the attack against Norman, her thin résumé took center stage in the historic Newberry Opera House on several occasions throughout the debate, including when a question about Taiwan, the South China Sea and American security interests came up.

"I'm just going to be honest here — I'm not on national security," Graham said. "I'm not that informed on national security, but I do support the military."

She followed her short answer by saying, "National security is not my thing."

Lindsey Graham was known as a staunch foreign policy hawk during his Senate tenure, marked by his support for Ukraine and Israel and his aggressive push to increase pressure on Iran. Graham had long advocated for military strikes against Iran and spoke in favor of the Iran war after it began this year.

In a Fox News interview that aired July 20, Darline Graham — who never held office before she was appointed to the Senate last month, days after her brother died suddenly — emphasized that the main difference between her and her brother is that she would focus on issues that matter to "the average person," not foreign policy.

Similarly, in response to questions about foreign policy topics brought up throughout the debate — including Iran, regulations on China and the growing tensions in the South China Sea — Graham fell back on President Donald Trump's stance, saying her positions align with his. Trump has endorsed Graham for a full term.

"I fully trust President Trump when it comes to the war in Iran," Graham said, adding: "Iran is the weakest they have been in 47 years. The one thing that concerns me is we cannot let them get a nuclear weapon. So I trust President Trump and everything he's doing. I think he's got this, and I trust him on it."

At another point in the debate, Graham misstated the population of South Carolina when talking about the economic struggles of the state. She said there were "50 million people in South Carolina"; the state has roughly 5.6 million people.

Graham spent three decades in public service in the state, focused on workforce issues and helping the blind and broader disability community. She has never run for public office before now, and she was not active in state or local politics — despite her brother's high-profile role in South Carolina.

Norman threaded his answers throughout the debate with the message that he is not the Republican establishment's candidate and tried to paint Graham as exactly that.

"Washington is with her," Norman said. "They're not with me, nor do I want them. I've never been subservient to anything in Washington. Washington is broken."

Graham quickly turned the attention back on Norman and his failed campaign for governor.

"I think you're confused, because I don't know if you want to be in South Carolina or Washington, because you said you wanted to go to Washington to clean up the swamp, then you wanted to come back to South Carolina to run for governor, now you want to go back to Washington again to clean up the swamp — so what is it you want to do?" she said.

Graham and Norman finished first and second in the special primary last week, triggering a runoff next week since no one got a majority of the vote. The Republican nominee will face Democrat Annie Andrews in the fall. Lindsey Graham had previously won the regularly scheduled primary for the seat.

Despite their back-and-forth attacks, the two came to agreement on several issues throughout the debate. Both said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the medical adviser to Trump during the Covid pandemic, should be in jail following his testimony before a Senate committee in Washington at which he invoked the Fifth Amendment.

"He ought to be in an orange jumpsuit," Norman said.

Graham agreed with Norman, but she also attacked him for receiving $600,000 in Covid relief funds while simultaneously opposing extending benefits to laid-off workers.

"That's a bit concerning for me," she said.

On the topic of AI data center regulations, Graham said she would support their development, but she said putting guidelines from local communities in place would be a priority to her. Norman charged that Graham had previously supported data centers more unconditionally.

Graham replied, "Obviously, I just said I'm for data centers, but I also said that there needs to be community involvement, community guidelines, community guardrails — maybe you didn't hear that part."

Following a fiery debate, Norman said in his closing statement that the real opponent in American politics is democratic socialism. He said that if he is elected, he would "make sure that the Senate wakes up" and votes for Trump's signature election legislation, which has stalled in the Senate because it does not have support to overcome a filibuster. He also called out Graham over another debate that was canceled but had been scheduled for a day later.

"I'd rather be out in South Carolina meeting the voters than here on this stage with you," Graham said, "but the fact is, I've done more in 20 days than you have done in 20 years."

Graham used her closing remarks to emphasize all that she has accomplished within her short tenure as a U.S. senator, including voting to pass a Russia sanctions bill, co-sponsoring conservative legislation and voting to confirm Attorney General Todd Blanche.

"So again, more in 20 days than you have done in literally 20 years," she said.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com