Sen. Lindsey Graham won the Republican Senate primary in South Carolina on Tuesday, securing more than half the vote and avoiding a two-week runoff.
Graham vanquished five opponents, including self-funding businessman Mark Lynch, who lent his campaign $5 million and challenged Graham over his staunch support for the war in Iran and his long history in Washington.
Lynch drew support from prominent MAGA Republican critics including former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, former Trump White House chief strategist Steve Bannon and former counterterrorism official Joe Kent.
Graham and his allies spent over $18 million in television and digital ads in the final weeks of the campaign, and AdImpact reported the Graham campaign spent more than $13 million on ads.
President Donald Trump endorsed Graham last year and reaffirmed his support in a telerally on the eve of the primary, joining Graham for a last-minute campaign appearance.
A campaign ad narrator said Trump "delivered on his promise to close the border" with Graham's help and called Graham "there for South Carolina, delivering for President Trump." Trump said Lynch was a "lunatic," which the Graham campaign highlighted on the airwaves.
The Graham campaign attacked Lynch for past arrests on charges related to cocaine and driving under the influence; Lynch said he sought treatment and "got clean and sober." One Lynch ad was solely video of Trump slamming Graham in 2016.
Annie Andrews, a pediatrician, won the Democratic primary after leading the field in fundraising and has run ads calling Graham a "warmonger" and a "swamp creature."
Graham, who is in his fourth term, is on his way to clinching his fifth term and is expected to cruise to victory in November; a Democrat has not represented the state in the Senate since 2005, when Sen. Fritz Hollings chose not to seek reelection.
In the South Carolina governor's race, Mace did not advance.