Lindsey Graham’s national popularity plummets as he fights for political future, poll finds

Graham is being challenged for his seat by Jamie Harrison, a 44-year-old former chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party

South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham is less popular than ever, according to an exclusive new poll for the Independent.

Mr Graham, 65, is facing a surprisingly tough re-election battle, and is locked in the fight to save his political life.

His hopes of clinging on to a seat he has held since 2003 have not been helped by his enthusiastic backing of Mr Trump.

More than a third of American voters — 34 per cent — say they have a worse view of him than four years ago, according to a new poll for the Independent, carried out by JL Partners. They spoke to 1,002 people between 26 October and 28 October.

Only 15 per cent say their opinion of him has improved.

Mr Graham, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Mr Trump’s golfing buddy and one of the most famous faces in Congress, is being challenged for his seat by Jamie Harrison, a 44-year-old former chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party.

If he wins, South Carolina would become the first state in US history to have two Black men serve simultaneously in the US Senate. Tim Scott, the other senator for South Carolina, is the only Black Republican in the Senate.

Mr Graham, a three-term senator with an $80 million war chest, currently has a six-point lead over Mr Harrison according to the most recent major poll, but at times throughout the race, polls have shown the two in a dead heat. 

Mr Harrison raised $57 million during the final full quarter of the campaign, shattering Senate fundraising records as his party seeks to wrest control of the chamber from Republicans.

His haul was the largest single-quarter total by any candidate in US Senate history, swamping the previous record set in 2018 when Texas Democrat Beto O'Rourke topped $38 million in the third quarter of that year in his unsuccessful Senate bid.

Mr Graham, by contrast, brought in $28 million for the same period.

The veteran politician has been left so concerned about his opponent that he has taken to going on Fox News to make desperate appeals for donations to his campaign.

Twice he has been cut off by the hosts, mid sentence — provoking hilarity from his adversaries.

CNN aired a clip edited to show all of his pleas, mocking him for grovelling.

The Lincoln Project, a group of anti-Trump Republicans, described him as “a sniveling weak crybaby”.

Mr Graham has even been criticised by Tucker Carlson, the most-watched man on Fox News, for reportedly being the person who convinced Mr Trump to speak to Bob Woodward for his bombshell book, Rage.

Carlson said it was a very bad idea, and went on to question Mr Graham’s loyalty to the Republican Party and president during his show.

“Lindsey Graham is supposed to be a Republican, so why would he do something like that?” Carlson asked.

“You'd have to ask him, but keep in mind that Lindsey Graham has opposed, passionately opposed, virtually every major policy initiative that Donald Trump articulated when he first ran, from ending illegal immigration, to pulling back from pointless wars, to maintaining law and order at home, Lindsey Graham was against all of that more than many Democrats. So maybe you already know the answer.”

Mr Graham, a firm friend of the late senator John McCain, has struggled with Mr Trump’s brutal attacks on his dead ally.

He has also created plenty of his own problems.

During a debate against Mr Harrison, the senator was furiously criticised for saying that young black people and immigrants can “go anywhere” in South Carolina, adding “you just need to be conservative, not liberal”.

This weekend he said on the campaign trail that young women in the US can accomplish anything they want if they are pro-life, embrace religion, and follow a traditional family structure.

He cited Judge Amy Coney Barrett as a role model when speaking at a campaign event in Conway, South Carolina. 

“You know what I like about Judge Barrett? She's got everything,” the senator said. 

“She's not just wicked smart, she's incredibly good. She embraces her faith. “I want every young woman to know there's a place for you in America if you are pro-life, if you embrace your religion, and you follow traditional family structure. That you can go anywhere, young lady,” he added.