Thread by @jslovegrove, A quick thread on our #SCSen coverage this Election Day:It began in [...]

A quick thread on our #SCSen coverage this Election Day:

It began in Feb. 2019, before @harrisonjaime started running or anyone was paying attention to the race, when we wrote that @LindseyGrahamSC had the potential to become the @tedcruz of this cycle…
https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/ahead-of-2020-re-election-lindsey-grahams-challenge-shifts-from-right-to-left/article_ea44940a-2635-11e9-bdc9-8b57192462f7.html

A couple months later, @LindseyGrahamSC kicked off his reelection campaign with a pair of @Mike_Pence rallies in Myrtle Beach and Greenville: https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/six-more-years-vp-pence-helps-lindsey-graham-kick-off/article_461078c6-52f5-11e9-96bc-73c99990547b.html

And @harrisonjaime launched his bid with goals of shepherding in "a new South": https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/former-sc-democratic-chairman-jaime-harrison-launches-senate-bid-against-lindsey-graham/article_9910b2fa-81b9-11e9-ac1b-c3208d443ab9.html

Former SC Democratic chairman Jaime Harrison launches Senate bid against Lindsey Graham

In a 3-minute, comic-book-themed announcement video released early Wednesday, Harrison charged that Graham has "forgotten about the people he represents" and cast himself as a candidate who would...

https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/six-more-years-vp-pence-helps-lindsey-graham-kick-off/article_461078c6-52f5-11e9-96bc-73c99990547b.html

Graham began the race with a 17-point head start. The vast majority of #SCSen voters had never heard of @harrisonjaime. Feels like ancient history now.

But there were early signs even then that things might get more interesting later... https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/sc-sen-lindsey-graham-begins-reelection-bid-with-sizable-lead-over-democratic-challengers/article_8bb38082-9100-11e9-adbd-67d6214c9bbe.html

SC Sen. Lindsey Graham begins reelection bid with sizable lead over Democratic challengers

In a new Post and Courier-Change Research poll, 51 percent of respondents said they would vote for Graham if the election were held today compared to 36 percent for the

https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/sc-sen-lindsey-graham-begins-reelection-bid-with-sizable-lead-over-democratic-challengers/article_8bb38082-9100-11e9-adbd-67d6214c9bbe.html

By the following year, @harrisonjaime began outraising @LindseyGrahamSC for the first time:
https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/lindsey-graham-outraised-by-democrat-jaime-harrison-in-scs-record-setting-senate-race/article_da5725d2-7f74-11ea-9109-9ff7410b8a56.html

That trend would continue for the rest of 2020 en route to #SCSen becoming one of the most expensive Senate races ever: https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/harrison-continues-to-outraise-outspend-graham-in-closing-weeks-of-sc-senate-race/article_d3f7c1f2-1541-11eb-bd66-77da279f56e7.html

Harrison continues to outraise, outspend Graham in final weeks of expensive SC Senate race

Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison became the first U.S. Senate candidate in American history to pass the $100 million mark for fundraising and spending in early October as he continued to

https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/lindsey-graham-outraised-by-democrat-jaime-harrison-in-scs-record-setting-senate-race/article_da5725d2-7f74-11ea-9109-9ff7410b8a56.html

While the $$ started garnering a lot of attention, there were plenty of policy differences between @LindseyGrahamSC and @harrisonjaime. So we launched an 8-part series asking them about the most pressing issues on SC voters' minds.

First on health care: https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/sc-senate-policy-stakes-graham-harrison-differ-on-how-to-improve-health-care-system/article_9b48d0aa-c765-11ea-a991-57bbdf6a8394.html

SC Senate policy stakes: Graham, Harrison differ on how to improve health care system

While U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham has tried for years to repeal the Affordable Care Act and give states more leeway to shape their own health insurance systems, Democratic challenger Jaime

https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/sc-senate-policy-stakes-graham-harrison-differ-on-how-to-improve-health-care-system/article_9b48d0aa-c765-11ea-a991-57bbdf6a8394.html

Part 2 on the economy: https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/sc-senate-policy-stakes-graham-urges-entitlement-reform-harrison-seeks-closing-loopholes/article_55a6df9e-d271-11ea-b926-a3a19fcaa888.html

Part 3 on climate change: https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/sc-senate-policy-stakes-graham-harrison-agree-on-climate-change-differ-on-approach/article_7344eac6-ddb3-11ea-ba08-57325748cc34.html

Part 4 on racial inequality and policing: https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/sc-senate-policy-stakes-graham-harrison-back-different-changes-to-policing-amid-protests/article_4c2361ba-e935-11ea-bb5c-ff2a3a7ebe06.html

Part 5 on immigration: https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/sc-senate-policy-stakes-graham-backs-trump-immigration-approach-harrison-urges-decency/article_be38585e-f430-11ea-b190-87c1e164daad.html

SC Senate policy stakes: Graham backs Trump immigration approach, Harrison urges 'decency'

After a lull at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, illegal crossings at the southern U.S. border have begun rising again in recent months, resurrecting an issue that has bedeviled

https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/sc-senate-policy-stakes-graham-urges-entitlement-reform-harrison-seeks-closing-loopholes/article_55a6df9e-d271-11ea-b926-a3a19fcaa888.html

Part 6 on foreign policy: https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/sc-senate-policy-stakes-graham-points-to-iran-harrison-to-russia-as-biggest-us-threat/article_6dfb819a-ff61-11ea-b6fb-534191060035.html

Part 7 on judges and social issues: https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/sc-senate-policy-stakes-graham-harrison-clash-on-judicial-philosophy-abortion-guns/article_57206bca-0afb-11eb-9879-97e281a747eb.html

Part 8 on education: https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/sc-senate-policy-stakes-graham-favors-school-choice-harrison-backs-public-schools/article_40cac610-1477-11eb-b1c3-afd330079cc0.html

SC Senate policy stakes: Graham favors 'school choice,' Harrison backs public schools

This is the eighth and final installment of a series in The Post and Courier leading up to the election laying out the policy views of Republican incumbent Lindsey Graham

https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/sc-senate-policy-stakes-graham-points-to-iran-harrison-to-russia-as-biggest-us-threat/article_6dfb819a-ff61-11ea-b6fb-534191060035.html

If those weren’t enough, we teamed up with @SCETV to host the final #SCSen debate on Friday night to dig deeper into the key issues of the race:

We also sat down separately with Graham:

And Harrison:

By early April, it was clear that campaigning in #SCSen would take on a very different form this year due to the pandemic: https://www.postandcourier.com/health/covid19/coronavirus-forces-sc-political-candidates-to-take-campaigns-virtual/article_6608f186-7508-11ea-a5d3-837c28c90050.html

That made other forms of getting the message out even more important than usual: https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/unprecedented-ad-blitz-spearheaded-by-democrats-coming-to-sc-in-us-senate-race/article_4af5dcaa-0325-11eb-979d-bfefaec87e85.html

Unprecedented ad blitz spearheaded by Democrats coming to SC in US Senate race

As polls continue to show them in a neck-and-neck U.S. Senate race, Republican incumbent Lindsey Graham and Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison have already shattered Palmetto State records, with at...

https://www.postandcourier.com/health/covid19/coronavirus-forces-sc-political-candidates-to-take-campaigns-virtual/article_6608f186-7508-11ea-a5d3-837c28c90050.html

A twist in the final month: Constitution Party candidate Bill Bledsoe ended his campaign and endorsed @LindseyGrahamSC.

But while some thought that cleared a key hurdle for Graham, we warned at the time that Bledsoe might still become a problem for him... https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/despite-dropping-out-and-endorsing-graham-third-party-candidate-could-hurt-sc-senator/article_03dbfae4-0423-11eb-acf6-fbb3794860f2.html

Despite dropping out and endorsing Graham, third-party candidate could hurt SC senator

Even though Constitution Party nominee Bill Bledsoe announced he will vote for Graham, that does not necessarily mean other South Carolina voters will follow suit.

https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/despite-dropping-out-and-endorsing-graham-third-party-candidate-could-hurt-sc-senator/article_03dbfae4-0423-11eb-acf6-fbb3794860f2.html

Sure enough, @harrisonjaime started elevating Bledsoe's profile, capitalizing on the fact that his decision came too late to remove his name from the ballot: https://www.postandcourier.com/columbia/politics/harrison-elevates-third-party-candidate-in-bid-to-pull-gop-sc-senate-votes-from-graham/article_f742abd4-1237-11eb-90e4-071b9c755abc.html

The move sparked rare unity among Graham's longtime conservative critics: https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/sc-conservative-critics-of-graham-back-senator-blast-harrison-efforts-to-split-gop-voters/article_2417bdac-1945-11eb-a547-830ebf6c6838.html

SC conservative critics of Graham back senator, blast Harrison efforts to split GOP voters

The last-minute unity bid come as Harrison has sought to elevate third-party candidate Bill Bledsoe in the closing weeks of the race, running ads and sending out mailers to Republicans

https://www.postandcourier.com/columbia/politics/harrison-elevates-third-party-candidate-in-bid-to-pull-gop-sc-senate-votes-from-graham/article_f742abd4-1237-11eb-90e4-071b9c755abc.html

And of course SCOTUS dominated the final month, too. @LindseyGrahamSC used it to unify SC GOP at a key moment: https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/supreme-court-fight-shakes-up-scs-senate-race-could-help-graham-shore-up-gop-support/article_d698d698-ff35-11ea-bc51-33da998015de.html

While @harrisonjaime refrained from weighing in on ACB, he brought it back to his focuses of health care and character: https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/graham-focuses-on-supreme-court-harrison-on-health-care-as-senate-race-enters-final-weeks/article_80185f7a-0fe1-11eb-86b6-cffb18e02639.html

Graham focuses on Supreme Court, Harrison on health care as Senate race enters final weeks

As South Carolina's increasingly high-profile U.S. Senate race enters its crucial final weeks, Republican incumbent Graham and Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison are emphasizing different issues as...

https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/supreme-court-fight-shakes-up-scs-senate-race-could-help-graham-shore-up-gop-support/article_d698d698-ff35-11ea-bc51-33da998015de.html

A frenetic final week saw the candidates dashing across the state, @harrisonjaime for drive-in rallies and @LindseyGraham for a more traditional whistle-stop tour.

Their closing messages were worlds apart: https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/fight-back-vs-new-south-graham-harrison-offer-contrasting-visions-of-scs-future/article_ca21cf32-1d2b-11eb-8065-17bc792b9425.html

'Fight back' vs. 'New South': Graham, Harrison offer contrasting visions of SC's future

As South Carolina's high-profile U.S. Senate race barrelled toward election day, Republican incumbent Lindsey Graham and Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison spent the final week criss-crossing the...

https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/fight-back-vs-new-south-graham-harrison-offer-contrasting-visions-of-scs-future/article_ca21cf32-1d2b-11eb-8065-17bc792b9425.html

It’s been a wild election cycle in South Carolina, featuring a pivotal presidential primary, #SC01 redux and this #SCSen race.

Thanks to all who read, emailed, called, tweeted and, most importantly, subscribed. We couldn’t do it without you: https://www.postandcourier.com/subscribe/

Now we wait.

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