Trump to campaign for Darline Graham in tight South Carolina Senate race

US President Donald Trump is travelling to South Carolina to support the campaign of Darline Graham, sister of the late Senator Lindsey Graham, ahead of a Senate race that has become tighter than expected for Republicans.

The visit, scheduled for Wednesday, will include a rally with Graham. The contest, in a state that usually favours Republicans, is being held on November 3.

Lindsey Graham, a prominent hawkish senator who backed US-Israel action against Iran, had been expected to win re-election easily, but his death in July changed the race. South Carolina's governor appointed Darline Graham to complete her brother's term, and Trump then endorsed her in a new Republican primary, helping secure her the party's nomination. Trump said at the time that the endorsement was meant to honour her brother.

In a video message last week, Trump reaffirmed his full support for Graham, urging South Carolina residents to back her, describing her as a wonderful and admired figure whom her brother once called the finest person he knew.

Her Democratic opponent, paediatrician Annie Andrews, has highlighted Graham's limited political experience and the unusual path she took to the nomination. Andrews pointed to Graham's weak performance in debates, including a moment where Graham acknowledged she was not well versed in national security matters, according to a local Fox News affiliate interview conducted before Trump's planned rally in Pendleton, South Carolina.