Trey Gowdy came very close to quitting Fox News.
One stunning job offer nearly pulled him away.
And now the full story behind this near-exit has everyone talking.
As American Media Watch Dog reports:
Gowdy Floated as a Potential Lindsey Graham Replacement
South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham’s death stunned the political world.
Graham passed away at age 71 from a heart attack four months before he was an expected shoo-in to win a fifth term in the United States Senate.
This opened up a vacancy to fill Graham’s seat.
Under South Carolina law, Governor Henry McMaster picks a replacement to serve out the remainder of Graham’s term, which ends on January 3, 2027.
A snap primary is held on July 28 with a runoff on August 11 if no one receives 50 percent of the vote.
The replacement can run in the primary.
But in cases like this, Governors like McMaster prefer to pick a caretaker who won’t seek to run for the seat to create an open primary and not create friction in the party by tipping the scales by giving one candidate the advantage of incumbency and creating hard feelings among other contenders whose votes you may need on other issues.
South Carolina Senator Tim Scott floated Trey Gowdy’s name as one caretaker to fill Graham’s seat until January.
POLITICO reported that “Sen. Tim Scott on Sunday threw his support behind former Rep. Trey Gowdy to fill the Senate seat left vacant by the sudden death of South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham.
Scott, who appeared on Gowdy’s Fox News show Sunday night, has already made a round of calls pitching the former prosecutor as a possible short-term pick to serve out the remaining months of Graham’s term, which expires at the end of this year. Scott and Gowdy have long had a close relationship, beginning when the two were first elected to Congress in 2010, and authored a book together that was published in 2018.”
Trump Makes His Pick
The decision on who would fill Graham’s seat came down to the one factor that decides nearly all matters inside the Republican Party – President Trump’s endorsement.
In this case, Trump backed the idea of appointing Darline Graham Nordone, Graham’s sister, to the post.
“I recommended, to Governor Henry McMaster, Lindsey Graham’s wonderful sister, Darline, to serve as interim Senator from the Great State of South Carolina. This would be a fabulous tribute to Lindsey, who loved her dearly!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
McMaster quickly followed suit.
“It’s my honor to ask his little sister Darline Graham to finish his work for him now,” McMaster declared at a press conference announcing Darline as the selection to fill Graham’s seat.
“It is such a privilege to get to finish some of his important work, and I promise to work hard over the next several months to support the president and carry forward the efforts of my brother on behalf of the citizens of South Carolina and the United States,” Nordone stated, going on to say that “Lindsey would have wanted” this decision.
