Sen. Darline Graham narrowly won South Carolina's Republican Senate primary runoff Tuesday, after President Trump flexed his political muscles in the final days of the campaign to get her over the finish line.

With 95% of the vote counted, Graham had 53%, while Rep. Ralph Norman, who represents a district in the northern part of the state, had 47%, according to the Associated Press.

Graham now will face Democrat Annie Andrews, a pediatrician and gun-safety advocate, in the fall general election. South Carolina hasn't elected a Democratic senator since 1998.

The contest was seen as a test of Trump's endorsement power. While Trump successfully engineered the defeat of some high-profile Republicans earlier this year, including Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana-who both lost in GOP primaries-his picks since then have suffered losses in a number of governor and House races.

Trump's endorsement of Graham was personal. Graham, 62 years old, was appointed to her late brother Lindsey Graham's seat in July by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster at Trump's direction, for a term that expires in January. Lindsey Graham, a close ally of the president, died of an aortic dissection caused by heart disease.

Trump then encouraged Darline Graham to run for the full term, which ends in 2033. He actively supported her campaign, flying last week to Myrtle Beach, S.C., to appear with her at a rally, holding virtual events and posting Truth Social comments praising her.

During a tele-rally Monday, Trump told listeners: "I asked her to do it, I got her into this whole thing. I have to make sure she gets in because there will be nobody better."

The race remained competitive, however, amid questions about Graham's unproven political leanings and inexperience in public office. In interviews ahead of the result, several South Carolina Republican strategists predicted that Norman was likely to prevail Tuesday, while others cautioned the race could be tight.

A rocky debate performance by Graham last week had fueled more concerns about her candidacy. When asked whether Taiwan and the South China Sea are U.S. national-security issues, she said, "national security is not my thing, not my area of expertise, but I do support the military." Graham, whose late brother was an influential foreign-policy voice, said she would focus more on domestic policy and affordability and rejected the notion she wasn't suitable for office.

"Now the critics say I shouldn't run for the Senate. They say I'm not a politician. You know what I say? Guilty as charged," Graham said during a speech Friday at the Myrtle Beach rally. Graham, who ran South Carolina's Commission for the Blind before being named senator, added that Trump hadn't been an elected official before his first presidency.

Norman, 73, joked about the debate at a town hall. When conservative talk-show host Tara Servatius asked him the same national-security question and joked that it was easy to answer, Norman responded: "Not to some."

Jordan Ragusa, a political-science professor at the College of Charleston, said Graham's win showed Trump's continued sway in the GOP. Despite some signs of weakening this term, he said, "still, in the big picture, he's a kingmaker in Republican politics."

Mark Weber, chairman of the Lexington County Republican Party, said Trump "continues to successfully walk the line in his endorsements and will not lose that power."

Trump allies had grown concerned about the race. MAGA Inc., a super PAC aligned with the president, disclosed that it had spent more than $800,000 on calls and text messages urging voters to support Graham, marking the first time it had spent money on a race in months. The PAC is sitting on more than $400 million.

The PAC's contribution comes on top of roughly $6.6 million in independent expenditures by pro-Graham groups for the runoff. Outside groups spending on Norman have spent less than $1 million, according to recent federal election filings.

Filings through Aug. 5 show Graham's campaign raised just under $350,000. Norman's campaign raised more than $900,000, with $400,000 of that coming from a loan he made to his own campaign.

In her brief time in the Senate, Graham has backed Trump's agenda. She threw her support behind the Save America Act legislation touted by Trump that mandates proof of citizenship and voter ID. She has voiced support for increased funding for immigration enforcement, expanded gun rights and antiabortion legislation.

Norman, a former real-estate developer, has represented South Carolina's Fifth Congressional District since 2017 and is a member of the House Freedom Caucus, a hard-line conservative bloc. He endorsed former South Carolina Gov. and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley for president over Trump in 2024 but switched his endorsement when Haley dropped out. He has voted with the administration's priorities and called Trump endorsing Graham a "head scratcher."

In Tuesday's election, Norman won northwestern counties in and around his House district, including Greenville County, while Graham carried the rest. She ran up the score in Horry County, home to the Myrtle Beach rally with Trump last week.

Trump's endorsement of Graham wasn't a slam dunk. While her brother was a close Trump confidant, Lindsey Graham was never as popular as the president and would sometimes get booed at joint events. After his death, some Republicans balked at the quick choice of Darline Graham to replace him for the full term.

That move left an opening for rivals, with Norman, Reps. Russell Fry and Nancy Mace and former Gov. Mark Sanford all jumping into the race. Graham finished first in the Aug. 11 special primary with about 32% of the vote. Norman took second with about 25%, qualifying them for Tuesday's runoff.