To The People Of South Carolina

 I have been a lifelong Republican. I did not not vote for Lindsey Graham in the primary. I did not agree with every vote he cast. I never doubted that he fought for what he believed. When he passed away suddenly on July 11, Governor McMaster made his decision by asking his sister Darline to finish out his term. It was a respectful gesture. Let his sister close out his unfinished business, while giving the people of South Carolina time to choose who they wanted to represent them in Washington come November.

What I will not accept is what has followed. The political class deciding who we should elect. Tim Scott. Drew McKissick. Donald Trump himself. One after another, they lined up to tell us, that Darline Graham should be handed the seat. Not because she earned it. Not because she's the most qualified Republican in South Carolina. Because she is Lindsey Graham's sister. That is the entirety of their argument and they expect us to go along. I have nothing against Darline Graham personally. By all accounts she has served our state honorably as Commissioner for the Blind and across nearly three decades in various agencies. She may be a fine public servant. Being somebody's sibling is not a qualification for the United States Senate. A last name is not a résumé. Kinship is not a mandate. And yet here they stand. The very people we elected, acting as though this seat now belongs to the Graham family by some unwritten right of succession. Their arrogance is breathtaking. They have passed through the crucible of public scrutiny and emerged with power. Now they believe that power entitles them to select our representatives for us. That is not how this works. The people of South Carolina get to vote. This year we celebrate 250 years since America broke away from a king. We fought a revolution, bled for it, died for it, to reject that power flows through bloodlines. We do not hand public office down from one relative to another, like some kind of aristocratic estate. We do not treat the United States Senate like a family business to be bequeathed. That is not what we fought for. It is the reason this country destroyed that aristocratic estate. Let the people decide. We fought for that right. South Carolina has no shortage of good Republicans. Men and women who have worked hard, built businesses, served their communities, led with conviction and earned the respect of the people through their own sweat and merit. Every single one of them deserves the same fair shot, without the political establishment putting its thumb on the scale and telling us who we ought to coronate. A United States Senate seat is not a family heirloom. It belongs to the people of South Carolina. Not to a party machine. Not to a political dynasty. To the people. On August 11, a special primary will be held and I hope my fellow Republicans will make their voices heard. Let us choose the person who earned the job, not the person who happened to be born into the right family. That is the difference between a republic and a monarchy. I for one, did not sign up for a monarchy.