PENDLETON, S.C. — President Donald Trump is scheduled Wednesday evening to hold a rally in Pendleton in support of U.S. Sen. Darline Graham, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate.

Graham has arrived at the rally and is taking photos with supporters. Among those with her is longtime Lindsey Graham campaign manager Scott Farmer.

The rally is being held about seven miles away from Graham’s hometown of Central. She grew up in a small bar, restaurant and pool hall with her brother, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham.

Graham’s Democratic opponent, Annie Andrews, welcomed the president in a news release Wednesday afternoon.

Andrews also asked Graham to ask the president to end the war in Iran and help lower the cost-of-living.

“President Trump is always welcome in South Carolina, and I hope he hears directly from the families, farmers and workers who are paying more every month for groceries, gas, diesel, and health care, with the war in Iran driving prices even higher,” Andrews said in a news release. “But Sen. Graham must do more than play politics — she needs to fight for South Carolina.”

Members of the public lined up for hours at the T. Ed Garrison Arena in Pendleton to see Trump, who was expected to deliver remarks at 7 p.m. Pre-program remarks were to begin at 5:30 p.m.

Among those in attendance is U.S. Rep. Sheri Biggs, the Republican representing the 3rd Congressional District. Gov. Henry McMaster also is expected to attend.

Attendees were greeted by several booths selling Trump T-shirts, coins and hats. Many attendees wore classic red “Make America Great Again” hats, T-shirts with slogans and photos of the president and American flag wear.

It’s the first political rally Caroline Stabene, a student living in Clemson, has attended. She showed up to see the president speak and support Graham, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate.

“I think she knows what she’s talking about, and I think she comes from a good background,” Stabene said.

Trump’s visit to the Upstate comes as polls indicate the race between Graham and Andrews could be close.

The president is looking to rally support for Graham, who decided to run for the full six-year term after she was appointed to finish her late brother’s term.

A Trafalgar Group poll had Graham leading Andrews by just 3 percentage points. The poll had a margin of error of 2.9 percentage points. Graham had 48.6% in the poll. Andrews had 45.6%

However, in a state that has straight-party ticket voting, Attorney General Alan Wilson has a larger lead on his Democratic opponent in the governor’s race than Graham does on Andrews. A poll conducted in the same time period had Wilson leading state Rep. Jermaine Johnson, the Democratic nominee for governor by 16 points, 52.5% to 36.5%.

The Upstate is considered a Republican stronghold in the state. However, support for Graham was weakest in counties there during the Republican special primary and subsequent runoff in August. Norman carried several Upstate counties in the runoff, including where the rally was held Wednesday. Some social media users have been vocal about writing in U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman for U.S. Senate. Norman finished second in the special Republican primary but fell to Graham by five percentage points in the runoff.

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