South Carolina Senate Race: New Poll Shows Voters Split On Lindsey Graham, Jaime Harrison

In a much-watched Senate race in South Carolina, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham is tied with Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison, according to a poll released Wednesday by Quinnipiac University. The survey shows both candidates at 48% support among likely voters, with 3% undecided.

The poll surveyed 969 likely voters from Sept. 10-14, and has a 3.2-point margin of error.

“A victor by almost 16 points back in 2014, Graham stares down the first real test of his Senate tenure,” Quinnipiac polling analyst Tim Malloy said about the survey. “Outspent and accused by some of being a Trump apologist, he is in a precarious tie.”

Harrison has consistently outpaced Graham in fundraising.

In the second quarter, Harrison received $14 million in donations, while Graham brought in $8.4 million. In the first quarter, Harrison received $7.36 million, compared to Graham's $5.6 million.

Graham, 65, has served in the Senate since 2003. He represented South Carolina’s 3rd district in the House from 1995 to 2003. Once a moderate on issues such as immigration and climate change, Graham in recent years has become a staunch ally of President Donald Trump. Graham strongly supported controversial Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in confirmation hearings and has frequently attended golf outings with Trump.

Harrison, 44, was the chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party from 2013 to 2017. Harrison has emphasized his working-class background and attacked Graham for being too close to Trump, and portrayed him as out of touch with South Carolinians.

"Lindsey Graham, a man who I used to have tremendous respect for -- he's changed. He's not the same person," Harrison told the “Axios On HBO” program earlier this month. "I'm running against a guy who cares more about his own political relevance and his political power than he does addressing the issues that people are dealing with here on a day-to-day basis."

Graham had recently called on Harrison to release his tax returns, suggesting that the Democratic candidate is hiding something. Harrison then released his returns on Tuesday, and asked for Trump do the same.

The Democrats currently need three or four seats to retake the Senate, depending on whether Democratic nominee Joe Biden wins the White House. Promising Senate races for Democrats include Arizona, North Carolina, Maine, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa and Montana.