Republican former South Carolina Governor David Beasley has crossed party lines to endorse Democrat Annie Andrews in her U.S. Senate race against Senator Darline Graham, giving Andrews a prominent GOP supporter as she attempts to pull off an upset in traditionally red South Carolina.
Beasley joined Democratic former Governor Jim Hodges in a campaign video released on Monday backing Andrews. Their alliance is particularly striking because Hodges defeated Beasley in South Carolina's 1998 gubernatorial election.
“Over the years, the two of us haven't always agreed on everything,” Beasley said in the video. “But one thing we do agree on right now is this country is too divided, and the political rhetoric has gotten way, way out of hand.
“That is why we're coming together today to support Annie Andrews. Annie understands that leadership isn't about making people angrier. Well, it's about making things better.”
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The dual endorsement comes during the closing stretch of a race in which approved polling has shown Andrews within a few percentage points of Graham, despite South Carolina's long-standing Republican advantage.
Beasley served as governor from 1995 to 1999 and led the United Nations World Food Programme from 2017 to 2023. The organization received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020 during his tenure.
“We may have served as your governor from different political parties, but we agree South Carolina deserves better than more of the same political fight,” Beasley and Hodges said in the video before urging voters to support Andrews.
The endorsement bolsters Andrews' effort to demonstrate support beyond the Democratic electorate. Her campaign said that more than 100 Republicans have joined its “Republicans for Annie” coalition. The campaign has also highlighted Warren Norman, the son of Republican Representative Ralph Norman, as a crossover supporter.
The contest is unfolding amid a broader midterm campaign blitz, as both parties pour resources into competitive races across traditional swing states and look for unexpected opportunities elsewhere.
Newsweek contacted the Andrews and Graham campaigns for comment by email on Monday.
Annie Andrews Polling
Polling suggests that Andrews is competitive with Graham, although it does not show the Democrat leading.
An InsiderAdvantage survey conducted September 28-29 among 1,200 likely South Carolina voters found Graham receiving 46 percent support to Andrews' 45 percent. Constitution Party candidate Mark Hackett received 3 percent, Libertarian Kasie Whitener received 2 percent and 4 percent were undecided. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.83 percentage points.
An InsiderAdvantage survey conducted September 8-9, also among 1,200 likely voters, put Graham at 45.1 percent and Andrews at 43.2 percent.
The September 28-29 poll also offered evidence relevant to Andrews' effort to attract voters from the other party. InsiderAdvantage pollster Matt Towery said that “almost 10% of Republicans” surveyed were supporting Andrews, while also pointing to stronger enthusiasm among Republican voters.
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South Carolina's Republican Advantage
Even a close poll does not eliminate the considerable historical challenge facing Andrews.
President Donald Trump won South Carolina by nearly 18 percentage points in 2024, while Democrats have struggled for decades to win U.S. Senate races in the state. South Carolina's last Democratic Senate victory came in 1998, when Fritz Hollings defeated Republican Bob Inglis.
The current race emerged following Senator Lindsey Graham's death in July. Darline Graham, his sister, was appointed to fill his seat and won the Republican special primary runoff, putting her on the November ballot.
Bipartisan Support
Beasley and Hodges closed the video with a joint appeal to voters: “We may have served as your governor from different political parties, but we agree South Carolina deserves better than more of the same political fight.”
Andrews' campaign is presenting Beasley as part of a larger effort to attract Republicans dissatisfied with Graham. The campaign said that more than 100 Republicans have joined “Republicans for Annie,” while Warren Norman said that he plans to vote for Andrews, Newsminimalist reported.
Recent polling provides some support for the idea that Republican crossover voting exists, with Towery reporting that almost 10 percent of Republicans surveyed in late September backed Andrews.
For Andrews, the central question is whether endorsements from Republicans such as Beasley can help turn crossover support into a large enough coalition to produce an upset.
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Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Gabe Whisnant and Dave Siminoff.