South Carolina Picks Senator From Lindsey Graham’s Family Business, Venture Capital Also Joins
KEY POINTS
- •Darline Graham became interim senator following the death of her brother, Lindsey Graham, and now faces Ralph Norman in a runoff.
- •Pete Hegseth appointed Marc Andreessen and Blake Masters to the Defense Policy Board, linking them to Trump Jr.’s 1789 Capital and defense contracts.
- •Several states, including South Carolina, Vermont, Alabama, Connecticut, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, held primary elections timed closely between 7pm-9pm ET.
In the latest episode of 'Politics: Bloodlines Edition,' Darline Graham took the interim senator seat following her brother Lindsey Graham's death, now facing Ralph Norman in a Republican runoff. Meanwhile, Pentagon advisor Pete Hegseth stacked his board with Marc Andreessen and Blake Masters—Silicon Valley’s investment duo from ‘a16z’—cozy with Donald Trump Jr.'s 1789 Capital, jointly marveling at lucrative military and space contractors. As South Carolina, Vermont, Alabama, Connecticut, Minnesota, and Wisconsin all lined up for primaries with their respective oddly precise 7pm to 9pm ET timeslots, America once again proved everything’s just a little family business mixed with venture capital funneling into defense tech. Democracy at its finest, served dry.
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(1 of 3)When succession means sibling senator and military investments by Trump Jr.’s VC, welcome to politics where nepotism meets Silicon Valley in a Pentagon money tango.
Nothing says democracy like handing a Senate seat to your sibling and inviting Trump Jr.'s VC pals to watch over the Pentagon budget.
If a family seat and defense tech investments were Olympic sports, South Carolina just claimed gold – and probably tax breaks.
Source: Theguardian | Published: 8/12/2026 | Author: Rachel Leingang (now); Maanvi Singh, Uwa Ede-Osifo, Shrai Popat, Lucy Campbell and Tom Ambrose (earlier)
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