June 29, 2026
Daily Beast: Pediatrician trails three-term incumbent by just three points as Graham’s war rhetoric and 40% approval sink a once-safe red seat
(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) – The Daily Beast reported this morning that Dr. Annie Andrews, the South Carolina pediatrician 314 Action has backed for U.S. Senate has turned the race into a true tossup. According to the latest poll, Dr. Andrews has pulled to within three points of Sen. Lindsey Graham, closing the gap in a highly contested race to flip the seat.
The survey shows Graham clinging to a 48-45 lead with a 40% job approval and a 57% unfavorable rating. This lead is within the margin of error – a complete tossup even after Graham has spent over $13 million in this race. This is the third poll in a row to show Dr. Andrews within the margin-of-error.
Other findings of the poll include:
- After voters hear balanced biographies of both candidates, Dr. Andrews takes the lead, 46%-43%.
- After learning more about Graham’s record, Dr. Andrews expands her lead to eleven points, 48%-37%.
“This is what 314 Action means when we say doctors and pro-science candidates are best-positioned to win tough elections,” said Erik Polyak, Executive Director of 314 Action. “A doctor who spent her career caring for kids is now a genuine threat to a 30-year career politician whose answer to a war in the Middle East was to ask South Carolina parents to send their sons and daughters to fight in it. She’s running to make life more affordable, protect access to healthcare, and correct DC dysfunction. Lindsey Graham has never been more vulnerable or unpopular, and the contrast couldn’t be clearer: A doctor who will put South Carolinians first or a career politician who has spent his time groveling to special interests.”
READ MORE: The Daily Beast: Bloodthirsty MAGA Senator Confronted With Humiliating Poll
- “Warmongering Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham could lose his safe red seat to a Democratic doctor who was in the eighth grade when Graham was first elected, according to a damning new poll.
- Fresh data obtained by the Daily Beast puts the 70-year-old South Carolina senator almost neck-and-neck with Democratic nominee Dr. Annie Andrews, making him the latest Republican to spark fears of an anti-Trump “blue wave” at the midterm elections.
- The Impact Research poll shows Graham only three points ahead, 48-45, and with an approval rating of just 40 percent.
- ‘Lindsey Graham has been in politics since I was in the eighth grade, and people are sick of these career politicians,’ Andrews told the Daily Beast, insisting the MAGA senator had alienated many voters with his thirst for war, cuts to Medicaid, and long tenure in Washington.
- ‘Casual observers are pretty disgusted by Lindsey Graham’s behavior; imagine how South Carolinians feel. That’s exactly what this poll reflects.’”
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314 Action is the only national organization working to recruit, train and elect Democratic scientists across all levels of government—from the Senate down to local school boards. The organization is powered by a grassroots community of over six million people supporting scientists and health care professionals who will use science and facts to address the most urgent issues facing our generation.