Senator Graham Passes Away at 71

Today was supposed to be a day off from writing, but human events sometimes hit us like a ton of bricks.

Senator Lindsey Graham passed away last night at the age of 71. His office did not release too many details yet, saying he died from a “brief and sudden illness.”  As much as I railed against him the past few months, this is something I (or any other true conservative) would never wish for. My condolences go out to his family.

 According to the 17th Amendment, it falls on the sitting governor to make an appointment to fill the seat until the next election, which is in November. Had there been further years in Graham’s term, there would have had to be a special election for the remaining years. But that is not the case this time. So Governor McMaster will likely appoint someone to that seat for the next six months, until January 3 when the next Congress is seated.

I researched how the nominee for November’s election is now selected. There will be what is called a “Special Primary Election,” and it will be fast tracked. Filing for that position opens the second Tuesday after the passing of the original primary’s winner. That date would be July 21. The filing period lasts for one week. Then the special primary’s date is the second Tuesday after the close of filing, which would be August 11. (If my math is correct.) This will become clearer in the coming days.

 It is way too soon to speculate what is going to happen, who is going to file, etc. I will be reaching out to my contacts in the Lynch campaign to see what he is going to do. Stay tuned.