Democrats glimpsing a chance to oust Senator Lindsey Graham have launched a new super PAC focused on attacking the South Carolina Republican as he campaigns for reelection in the fall.
The new PAC, “Lindsey Must Go,” says it has already garnered more than $1 million in commitments and aims to raise $4 million or more from large and small donors, according to Politico.
Graham’s Democratic challenger, Jaime Harrison, beat Graham in fundraising during the first quarter with a $7.4 million haul, a record for South Carolina, compared to Graham’s $5.7 million. Graham still has $4 million more in cash than Harrison, however.
The group reportedly plans to focus on attacking Graham rather than backing Harrison.
“This is not about Jaime Harrison. This is about Lindsey Graham,” Jimmy Williams, a spokesperson for the PAC, told Politico.
Harrison has promised to run his campaign sans PAC funds. The new PAC, an outside group, will be co-chaired by Stephen Groves, a senior advisor at a consulting group that worked on Beto O’Rourke’s 2020 bid, and Brice Barnes, who was a senior adviser to Mike Bloomberg’s presidential run.
“Jaime is focused on running his own campaign, which is being historically successful,” a campaign spokesperson for Harrison said.
Graham dismissed the fresh effort to oust him after three terms, saying attempts to “sell socialism” will not be successful in South Carolina.
“Try as they might, no amount of liberal out-of-state money from Hollywood celebrities, Democrat[ic] super PACs, and the Clinton political network can successfully sell socialism in South Carolina,” Graham’s communications director T.W. Arrighi told Politico.
Graham, who chairs the influential Judiciary Committee, has gained a reputation as a frequent defender of President Trump, earning him the vitriol of progressive groups, but has occasionally bucked the president on high-profile issues.
On Thursday, Graham pushed back against Trump’s exhortation that he call former President Obama to testify before the Judiciary Committee about efforts by Obama administration officials to “unmask” former national-security adviser Michael Flynn. Graham said he is “greatly concerned about the precedent that would be set by calling a former president for oversight.”
During the confirmation process for Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, however, Graham emerged as a fierce critic of the acrimonious process, which he said was unfair to Kavanaugh and “the most unethical sham since I’ve been in politics.”