Will the Associated Press call South Carolina's Republican Senate runoff before 10 p.m. ET on Aug 25?
60% of users predicted YES — the community got this one right. 20 predictions cast.
The Associated Press called South Carolina's Republican Senate runoff for Sen. Darline Graham at approximately 9:01 p.m. ET on Aug. 25, 2026, roughly an hour before the 10 p.m. cutoff. AP's decision desk made the call once about 91 percent of precincts had reported, with Graham leading Rep. Ralph Norman by roughly five percentage points, a gap combined with the remaining vote outstanding that made the outcome mathematically decisive. Final certified returns later showed Graham winning 52.5 percent to Norman's 47.5 percent out of roughly 369,000 votes cast, a margin of more than 18,000 votes.
The runoff followed an Aug. 11 primary in which neither candidate cleared 50 percent in a multi-candidate field to succeed Sen. Lindsey Graham, who died in July 2026. His sister, appointed by Gov. Henry McMaster to serve out his term, faced Norman, a sitting U.S. House member, in the two-week runoff campaign. Rapid reporting from the state's larger counties allowed AP to project a winner well within the pre-10 p.m. window.
The community's 60 percent YES estimate, anticipating an early call, proved correct.