Appointed Sen. Darline Graham and Rep. Ralph Norman have secured spots in a Republican primary runoff for South Carolina's U.S. Senate seat, emerging from a multi-candidate field in Tuesday's primary election. Neither candidate cleared the threshold needed to win outright, setting up a head-to-head contest between the two Republicans.

Graham, who was appointed to the seat following Tim Scott's departure, enters the runoff with the backing of former President Donald Trump, whose endorsement has been widely credited with bolstering her standing in the race. Norman, a conservative congressman from the Columbia area, also drew strong support from the state's GOP base.

The primary field had drawn significant attention given the competitive nature of the contest and the seat's importance to Republicans seeking to maintain their Senate majority. South Carolina's runoff rules require a candidate to receive a majority of votes to avoid a subsequent runoff election, a threshold none of the candidates reached on primary night.

The runoff date has not yet been formally set, but the two candidates are expected to face each other in the coming weeks. The winner will advance as the Republican nominee in the special general election, where they will face the Democratic candidate. South Carolina is widely considered a safe Republican state at the federal level, making the GOP primary runoff the de facto determining contest for who will hold the seat.