Young Democrat Flips South Carolina House Seat as Lindsey Graham Faces Conservative Backlash Over Ukraine Visit
A 24-year-old Democrat has won a seat in the South Carolina House of Representatives, securing a double-digit victory in a traditionally red, rural district located in Senator Lindsey Graham’s political backyard—as the longtime GOP senator continues to face mounting criticism from America First conservatives over his hawkish stance on Ukraine.
Keishan Scott, a young progressive Democrat, defeated Republican challenger William Oden by nearly 41 points in the state’s District 50, according to unofficial results from the South Carolina Election Commission.
In a statement celebrating his victory, Scott said:
“This victory is definitely not mine alone. It belongs to all of the people of District 50… I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for your vote of confidence.”
Scott becomes the youngest member of the state legislature, though Republicans still control both chambers. His win, however, is being hailed by Democrats as a symbolic blow to the MAGA movement, particularly given the district’s previous support for then–Vice President Kamala Harris in the contested 2024 election.
Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin wasted no time using the win to attack President Donald Trump and his allies:
“As long as Trump and MAGA Republicans peddle an out-of-touch agenda that puts billionaires’ interests first and takes away health care from millions of Americans, they will continue to sink and lose,”
— Ken Martin, DNC Chair
Graham Under Fire for Ukraine Comments as MAGA Base Grows Restless
Meanwhile, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is drawing sharp criticism from conservatives after a trip to Kyiv where he praised Ukraine’s drone strikes against Russian military targets—a position increasingly out of step with President Trump’s foreign policy priorities.
“The ever-resourceful Ukraine used creative drone warfare tactics to successfully attack Russian bombers and military assets used to kill Ukrainian citizens and destroy their country,”
— Graham posted on X
The senator went even further, suggesting that Congress would act against Russia with or without President Trump’s support, a statement that has enraged populist conservatives and former Trump adviser Steve Bannon.
Appearing on NewsNation’s Cuomo, Bannon blasted Graham’s trip as reckless and dangerous, warning that it could drag the U.S. into World War III.
“We can’t have Lindsey Graham, and particularly Zelensky, leading us into a third world war with a deep strike into Russia,”
— Steve Bannon
Bannon even floated the idea of detaining Graham over his continued support for Ukraine’s escalation.
“Two things ought to happen: Either cancel his passport and don’t let him back in the country, or put him in jail if he comes back,”
— Bannon told host Chris Cuomo
Cuomo, while partially sympathetic to Bannon’s concerns about U.S. entanglement in Ukraine, pushed back on the legal implications:
“I don’t understand how you could want to jail a U.S. senator because he’s saying something you don’t like… That sounds like the worst of the deep state and lawfare.”
Bannon didn’t budge, calling Graham’s actions “stirring it up” and giving Ukrainians “false hope” about America’s military involvement.
“It was brilliant. But the problem is it gets us involved in a conflict that no one in the United States wants to be part of,”
— Bannon added
MAGA Movement Turning on Graham?
The incident adds to the growing tension between traditional neoconservative voices like Graham and the America First movement reshaping the Republican Party under President Trump’s leadership.
Graham’s strong support for Ukraine—and open defiance of Trump’s more restrained foreign policy—has increasingly alienated him from Trump’s base, particularly as domestic priorities like the border, inflation, and crime dominate voter concerns.
Whether Graham can survive politically in the long run remains to be seen, but for now, his political footprint in South Carolina is showing cracks, and this recent Democratic win in District 50 is only adding to the pressure.