EXCLUSIVE — Andre Bauer, the former lieutenant governor of South Carolina, is adding his name to the list of Republicans contemplating a bid for Sen. Lindsey Graham‘s (R-SC) seat next year.
In an interview, Bauer told the Washington Examiner he is leaning toward running in the 2026 Senate primary, laying the groundwork for what would be a challenge from Graham’s right.
“I’m giving it careful consideration,” he said, before criticizing Graham’s hawkish stance on foreign policy and bipartisan streak.
“He’s lost his way. It’s more foreign wars. It’s not supporting an America First agenda,” Bauer said.
Graham has repeatedly overcome primary threats over his four terms serving in the Senate, but Bauer represents the highest-profile Republican considering a run this cycle and has won statewide twice.
The other notable challenger is Mark Lynch, a businessman promising to put $5 million of his own money into the race.
Bauer did not want to “fully commit” to a campaign on Wednesday but said he would announce his decision in the “near future” and that he was making calls to leaders in the business community and beyond.
“I am calling people that I trust,” Bauer said, “and overwhelmingly, I’ve never seen anything like it — people feel like it’s time for a change. They feel like Lindsey does not represent South Carolina.”
Should he choose to run, Bauer plans to tap into years of grassroots discontent with Graham, who has been censured by county parties over the years and periodically booed at President Donald Trump’s rallies.
Bauer would nonetheless have to overcome what Graham hopes are insurmountable hurdles in a primary. Graham not only locked down an endorsement from Trump in March, but he also has a hefty war chest and strong institutional support in South Carolina.
Upon launching his campaign, Graham announced he had $15.6 million to commit toward his reelection and soon tapped Gov. Henry McMaster (R-SC) and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) to chair his campaign.
Bauer emphasized a 2023 gesture of support from Trump when asked about Graham’s endorsement. At an early presidential campaign stop, Trump said Bauer could “run for almost any office and win” as he thanked members of the South Carolina delegation backing him.
In private, Bauer says Trump has urged him to get back into politics for years. Bauer served as lieutenant governor from 2003 to 2011 and, before that, was a state legislator for six years.
Bauer has yet to connect with Trump about his possible Senate run, but he told the Washington Examiner he spoke with the president briefly about a month ago.
“He’s expressed confidence in me four or five times in a row that I’ve seen him,” Bauer said.
Graham has easily dispatched his past primary challengers. In 2020, his closest competitor attracted 17% of the vote. He also defied polling showing a tight race against Democrat Jaime Harrison. Graham went on to win the general election by 10 points.
Still, Bauer believes he can drive a wedge between Graham and the MAGA base. In the interview, Bauer painted Graham as a “globalist” who was out of step with voters for his interest in regime change in Iran.
A Winthrop University survey taken in late May showed Graham with a 34% approval rating, while a Quantus Insights poll taken in June shows statewide approval at 41%, and 68% among Republican voters.
“I’m just not banging that gong anymore. I’m not supporting that anymore,” Bauer said. “I’m fed up with it, and somebody’s got to give the voters of South Carolina an alternative.”
As for fundraising, Bauer framed Graham’s war chest as “lobbyist” money while promising to campaign in all of South Carolina’s counties.
“He’s so disliked in South Carolina, he’s going to need all the money he can get to reinvent himself,” Bauer said.
In a statement, Graham spokeswoman Abby Zilch said he was proud to have Trump’s “complete and total endorsement” while highlighting the senator’s work as Budget Committee chairman.
“Senator Graham is focused on helping Trump enact his America First agenda – cutting taxes, eliminating waste, funding border security, and standing with Israel against religious Nazis who want to wipe them off the map,” said Zilch.
Bauer left political office after an unsuccessful campaign to succeed Mark Sanford as governor and lost a House runoff for South Carolina’s 7th Congressional District in 2012.
He later emerged as a surrogate for Trump, defending his first term in office as a contributor for CNN.
When asked about his interest in a political comeback, Bauer suggested his time spent out of government made him an outsider, repeatedly describing himself as a small-business owner and family man.
Bauer said he had not spoken with Scott, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, but described getting a call from an unnamed South Carolina congressman he said wanted him to stay out of the race.
He claimed the lawmaker warned him it would be a “vicious race … and that if you don’t take the king out, life can be very difficult.”
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“And again, that tells me they’re concerned,” Bauer said.
On the Democratic side, Annie Andrews announced she would challenge Graham in May after an unsuccessful run for Rep. Nancy Mace’s (R-SC) seat in 2022.
The Senate race will take place alongside an opening for governor, with both Mace and Rep. Ralph Norman among the South Carolina Republicans considering a run for higher office.