Lindsey Graham’s replacement will be his younger sister
It often happens that, when a member of Congress dies and an interim appointment is needed, a relative fills the position for a while. That’s what’s happening here:
Former U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, will serve as interim U.S. senator to finish his term following his death.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster made the appointment Monday, one day after Graham died. …
Graham became Nordone’s legal guardian after their parents died and later adopted her when she was 13 years old.
Before her appointment, Nordone worked with the South Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation Department and has served as Commissioner of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind since 2019.
Nordone, a resident of Lexington, serves on the SC State Workforce Development Board and is the president-elect of the National Council of State Agencies for the Blind. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the College of Charleston, a Master of Arts in Rehabilitation Counseling, and is a Certified Public Manager.
She sounds like a very capable person, and they were extremely close. She sometimes helped him on the campaign trail.
This appointment also has the advantage of filling the position for the next few months with someone who is likely (although not certain) to lack permanent political ambitions. Since the election is in November, it should give room to others to campaign in a special election primary that will be held in mid-August.
Here’s her statement:
A very good and excellent plan.
Hope she stays healthy.
I’m with Niketas Choniates on this one. I didn’t like it when they did with Carnahan, I didn’t like it when they did it with Murkowski. I don’t like it in general. It’s a bad habit that is too often indulged.
That said, I have nothing against his sister personally. I hope she serves well, and helps keep the seat out of Dem hands.
HC68:
Is there any indication that Nadine intends to make a career of being a senator? “Widow’s succession” (she is his sister, not his widow, but the idea is the same) has been a tradition for a century. A senator dies in office and his widow is appointed as a placeholder to serve out his term. This provides her with some possibly needed income, and the eventual successor will be chosen in an open election without an incumbent picked by the governor. In some cases, the governor appointed the widow as a placeholder because he wants to run for the seat himself.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widow%27s_succession
A big part of me doesn’t like it, but can’t think of any way that is better on full criteria balance:
Vote similar,
No plans to run for that seat or other national office
Tribute to the deceased.
(Popular choice)
I do like the Tribute to the deceased, but that’s the criterion most difficult to fulfill without the family connection.
“Widow’s succession” (she is his sister, not his widow, but the idea is the same) has been a tradition for a century.
==
It’s not a tradition at all, just an occasional event. Some succeeding widows are in and out in a matter of months (see Muriel Humphrey).
I simply don’t care because I am not a South Carolinian. It is none of my business.
This seems like a good choice, since there is so far no indication that Mrs. Nordone intends to be a permanent replacement.
— bof
Her intentions are mostly beside the point. The only reason she will be a Senator is her blood connection to Lindsey Graham, and that’s a bad reason.
To the degree that it’s a tradition, it’s a bad tradition. America is supposed to be based on a rejection of the principle of ‘hereditary succession’, and widow succession is a form of that.
It isn’t the worse thing in the world, and it might sometimes work out well. But it’s still a bad idea, everything else being equal.
Again, I have nothing against his sister. She may be a fine person and a competent Senator. But I don’t like dynastic succession.
— Chases Eagles
Of course it’s your business, assuming you are an American. I’m not from NC either, but it is absolutely my business, because Senators affect the whole country. If it was a State level office one could at least reasonably make the argument that it’s purely a North Carolina matter, but not at the Federal.
By that same logic, it’s none of my business if North Caroline decides to let illegals vote and sends an illegal alien to the Senate. Of course it would absolutely be my business.
HC68:
Pick your battles:
“He who defends everything, defends nothing.”
Frederick the Great
HC68, my hands are full with the commies here in the Soviet of Washington.
Illegals are voting here, now. The Seattle Supreme Court is nothing but a commie rubber stamp for Olympia and why not? Those commie shitbags are “elected” too. The butt ugly DSA mayor of Seattle won’t go after immigrant fraud because “it is an attack on the immigrant community.”
“There are forty-seven states in the Union, and the Soviet of Washington.”
Postmaster General James Farley
This would be the sister he helped raise, I assume. Hero. (Though he’d probably say he just did what he had to do. Did what had to be done.)
So Don’t Cry for Me, Carolina?
Aw, get a life…
+ Related:
“Farewell to a friend of a Free Iran;
“Lindsey Graham chose to stand with America’s allies, with Israel in its darkest hours, with Ukraine in its struggle for sovereignty, and with many Iranians who continue to hope for a free homeland….”—
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/430104
I don’t know Darline’s qualifications for the job but I don’t see being related to a former senator as a disqualification. I suppose you could call it “dynastic succession” if she were to run for reelection to a full term, but I don’t believe that is going to happen. Otherwise the “Graham Dynasty” is only going to last for the duration of the term that Lindsey Graham was elected to. I have a few hundred better things to worry about than which Republican is going to hold Lindsey Graham’s seat for the next four months.
“What is the superlative of ‘so what’?”
Reports of cops ,FBI and US Marshals at Lindsey’s house ,bringing out boxes. The Marshals make this very interesting .
Keith:
As a first guess as to what the federal LEOs are doing, consider that Lindsey Graham had authorized access to highly sensitive national security information. It would be very prudent to ensured all that information/materials are secure given his untimely and tragic death.
@ om – that is the conclusion that Jeff Childers reached as well, and a bit more.
https://www.coffeeandcovid.com/p/from-russiagate-with-love-tuesday
He also covers a few other issues of the day:
— bof
It’s irrelevant whether she runs for reelection or not. It’s dynastic succession simply because she got the job simply by being someone else’s sister. If you want to claim it isn’t dynastic succession, show me why she would still be Senator if she was unrelated to Graham.
As I said, it’s not the worst thing in the world, and as Om notes, there are bigger fish that need frying right now. But it is still dynastic succession, and it’s still a bad extension of a bad precedent.
HC68:
That’s not what “dynastic succession” means.
AesopFan:
Wow, regarding the LEOs at Lindsey Graham’s home; at least he didn’t bring in Unicorns and dead scientists/engineers.
96 hours?
I suspect Mr. Coffee-and-COVID is overthinking things.