Darleen Graham, the sister of the late South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, took the constitutional oath before the U.S. Senate on Tuesday afternoon, filling the seat just three days after her brother's death, according to the Associated Press.

South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster had appointed Graham on Monday to fill the remaining months of her brother's current term. A separate special election will be held next month to choose a new Republican candidate in the general election for Lindsey Graham's seat, who was seeking a fifth term this year.

Darleen Graham Nordon, the sister of the late Senator Lindsey Graham, smiles after the swearing-in ceremony to temporarily fill her brother's vacant seat... at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., July 14, 2026 (EPA).

Darleen Graham, who will be the first woman to represent the state in the Senate, has never held public office before. She worked as an optician and in various state government agencies, including the South Carolina Commission for the Blind and the Department of Employment and Workforce. She is married to Larry Nordon but will be known in the Senate as Darleen Graham, her legal name.

She said on Monday that her older brother, who raised her after their parents' death, was always by her side. She added: 'Now, I will be by his side.'

Graham, 71, died unexpectedly on Saturday in Washington. A preliminary report from the medical examiner indicated he suffered a tear in the aorta, known as an aortic dissection. Graham, one of President Donald Trump's closest allies in the Senate, was chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and was set to become the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee in the next Congress.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, said before Tuesday's swearing-in that he knows Darleen Graham 'will continue Lindsey's tireless service to South Carolina.'

Lindsey Graham, who never married, was extremely close to his sister. He became her legal guardian after their parents' death, when he was 22 years old and she was 13.

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