Gov. Henry McMaster of South Carolina said on Monday that he would appoint Senator Lindsey Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, to finish his Senate term, after Mr. Graham’s death on Saturday.
Standing next to Ms. Nordone at a news conference, Mr. McMaster said it was his duty under the law to select someone “to serve in the place of this irresistible man, this irreplaceable man, this extraordinary man, for the remainder of his term.”
“Lindsey took care of his little sister in years long departed,” Mr. McMaster said at the Statehouse in Columbia, S.C. “It’s my honor to ask his little sister, Darline Graham, to finish his work for him now,” Mr. McMaster said at a news conference held in the Statehouse in Columbia, S.C.
Ms. Nordone accepted the appointment, saying it would be a “privilege to get to finish” some of her brother’s work over the next several months.
“I think this is what Lindsey would have wanted, and I plan to honor him in this way,” she said.
She added she missed Mr. Graham “more than I can even put into words.”
“But I’m going to do this,” she said. “I got it.”
Mr. McMaster, a Republican, announced his pick hours after President Trump had written in a social media post that appointing Ms. Nordone “would be a fabulous tribute to Lindsey, who loved her dearly!”
Mr. McMaster said that he has asked Ms. Nordone to fill the seat after they spoke “in the wee hours of Sunday morning” following Mr. Graham’s death, and that she accepted, “through tears.”
“I called the president afterwards, and he thought that it was a great idea,” Mr. McMaster said.
Mr. Graham and Ms. Nordone shared a close bond. Both of their parents died in a 15-month stretch, leaving Mr. Graham, at 22, to help care for his younger sister, who was then 13. She introduced him when he launched a long-shot Republican presidential bid in the 2016 election.
Ms. Nordone, 62, is a mother of two who worked to help people with disabilities find jobs. She does not appear to have previous political experience, other than supporting her brother.
There is a long history in American politics of having the widowed wives of men who die in office finish out their terms. Mr. Graham, who never married, joked when he ran for president that, if he won, maybe his sister would take on the duties of first lady.
Senator Tim Scott, Republican of South Carolina, endorsed Ms. Nordone’s appointment in a social media post after Mr. Trump’s. “After speaking with Darline, there is no one better who understands Lindsey’s love for family, our state, and our country,” he wrote. He later appeared with Mr. McMaster and Ms. Nordone at the news conference.
Mr. Graham, who was 71 and running for re-election when he died, was set to be on the ballot in November as a strong favorite to win a fifth Senate term.
Now, a special Republican primary election will be held on Aug. 11. Candidates will be able to file to run between July 21 and July 28. If no candidate wins a majority, a primary runoff will be held on Aug. 25.
Ms. Nordone indicated that she would serve out the remainder of Mr. Graham’s term but not that she would compete in the special Republican primary next month.
The names of several Republicans members of Congress from South Carolina have been raised as potential contenders to run in next month’s primary; Mark Lynch, a businessman who finished second in the Republican Senate primary in June, has already said he intends to run.
South Carolina leans heavily conservative, so the new Republican nominee would be strongly favored to win in November. The Democratic nominee is Dr. Annie Andrews, a pediatrician.
Mike Baker contributed reporting.