It's rare for an incumbent U.S. senator to face opposition from within his own party. But Sen. Lindsey Graham's compromises with Senate Democrats in Washington were too much for Republican activist Buddy Witherspoon of Lexington to bear. He challenged Graham in the Republican primary Tuesday, after traveling the state saying Graham is too liberal for South Carolina.
While tens of thousands of Republicans agree, the majority does not. Graham defeated Witherspoon easily.
With 100 percent of the precincts reporting, Graham got 186,398 votes (67 percent) to Witherspoon's 92,547 (33 percent).
Because of Witherspoon's attacks on his voting record, Graham had been defending his conservative credentials. But when he addressed supporters at a victory party in Columbia Tuesday night, he defended the stances for which he had been criticized.
"Our victory is an affirmation that seeking principled compromise on important issues is not only respected and rewarded, it is the lifeblood of democracy," Graham said. "President Reagan embraced this model of governing – gradually moving the conservative ball forward through principled compromise when necessary – and so do I. It is an example we should all continue to follow."
Now that he's the Republican nominee, he faces Democratic opposition.
It was an extremely tight race in the Democratic primary. Bob Conley got 73,793 votes to Michael Cone's 72,807, a difference of just 986 votes.
Looking ahead to the general election, Graham says, "I will aggressively seek the support of Republicans, Independents and Democrats believing that mainstream conservatism will rally our state around a common purpose."
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