Lindsey Graham Goes Off on Democratic Challenger in Tweetstorm For Requesting Negative Covid Test Before Next Debate

Sarah RumpfOct 9th, 2020, 5:22 pm
 
lindsey graham

Photo by KEN CEDENO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images.

Sen. Lindsey Graham facing a tough battle for his South Carolina Senate seat from Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison, and took to Twitter Friday afternoon to complain about being asked to take a coronavirus test before Friday evening’s scheduled debate. According to late breaking news reports from South Carolina, the debate format has changed.

Graham, who was first elected to the Senate in 2002, has been virtually tied in the polls with first-time candidate Harrison for several months. The last debate matchup between the two candidates went viral for the plexiglass barrier that the Harrison campaign set up to protect their candidate, but that also drew attention to video clips of Harrison’s answers, winning the former South Carolina Democratic Party chair praise for his thoughtful answers.

The past week has featured a stream of stories about positive coronavirus tests for President Donald Trump, a growing list of people on his campaign and White House staff, and several Republican Senators, including some with whom Graham was in contact as a part of the Senate Judiciary Committee and recent events for Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett.

On Thursday, Harrison tweeted that he was “excited for tomorrow’s debate” with Graham, “but we need real leadership in this pandemic.” Accordingly, Harrison continued, he and the debate moderators had agreed to be tested for the coronavirus before the debate, and he called for Graham to “do the same.”

Graham responded with an indignant tweetstorm, accusing Harrison of “ducking” the debate and “demanding special treatment.”

“Why won’t you take the test, Lindsey?” Harrison replied.

The Post and Courier is reporting that the debate as planned is indeed cancelled and being replaced by individual interviews:

Republican incumbent Lindsey Graham and Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison will no longer debate Friday night after Harrison declined to participate unless Graham took a coronavirus test in advance and Graham denied the request.

Instead of an hour-long debate, the two candidates will each participate in separate 30-minute interviews hosted by television station WSPA in Spartanburg.

Harrison replied to the format change Friday afternoon, thanking the debate hosts for “accommodating Senator Graham’s refusal to take a Covid test, and changing the debate format to keep everyone safe.”

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Sarah Rumpf - Contributing Editor

Sarah Rumpf joined Mediaite in 2020 and is a Contributing Editor focusing on politics, law, and the media. A native Floridian, Sarah attended the University of Florida, graduating with a double major in Political Science and German, and earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the UF College of Law. Sarah's writing has been featured at National Review, The Daily Beast, Reason, Law&Crime, Independent Journal Review, Texas Monthly, The Capitolist, Breitbart Texas, Townhall, RedState, The Orlando Sentinel, and the Austin-American Statesman, and her political commentary has led to appearances on television, radio, and podcast programs across the globe. Follow Sarah on Threads, Twitter, and Bluesky.