Trump Holds Second South Carolina Rally as Poll Shows Senate Race Tied

President Donald Trump was scheduled to hold a campaign rally in South Carolina on Thursday, his second visit to the state in two weeks, as new polling showed the U.S. Senate race there tied. A poll released Wednesday found Sen. Darline Graham, the Republican incumbent, and Democratic challenger Annie Andrews level at 48% each. Fox News said it moved the race from Lean Republican to Toss-up in its Power Rankings, one week before the midterm elections. Trump was headed to the Upstate region to help Graham, who underperformed there in her primary runoff against Rep. Ralph Norman, according to Fox. More than 671,000 South Carolinians have already voted early, though those totals do not show who is winning. Fox said five Senate races are in toss-up territory and six states will decide the majority. It put the Democrats' ceiling at 54 seats and the Republicans' at up to 52. Vice President JD Vance is also campaigning in key states.

MS NOW, on the left, leads with Republican alarm, using a quoted "train wreck" label in its headline, and describes Trump as swooping in. Its excerpt gives only the tied poll and the Thursday rally, with no seat projections. Fox News, on the right, frames the same race through its own forecasting: it announces the rating shift, says Republicans already saw the race as uncomfortably close and that the view is now widely shared, and adds the primary-runoff weakness in the Upstate. It also places the race within national House and Senate scenarios, including an 11-point Democratic lead on the generic ballot. RealClearPolitics carries a headline close to MS NOW's, saying Republicans are panicking, with nearly identical wording. Both sides agree on the 48%-48% tie, the Thursday rally and that Republicans are worried. They differ in tone and sourcing: MS NOW stresses party panic, while Fox relies on its own ratings and polling. Reuters and NewsNation take a more neutral angle, calling the state a new battleground and pointing to early-vote totals.