Sen. Darline Graham, the Trump-backed appointee holding her late brother’s South Carolina seat, joked that she will “choke Lindsey” when she gets to heaven for leaving her to run for it, a remark that landed three days before Election Day with the race tied in the latest New York Times/Siena poll.

“When I get to heaven one day, I am just going to choke Lindsey,” Graham told the NY Times. Lindsey Graham died in July at 71, and Gov. Henry McMaster named his sister to finish the term, as we reported. She then announced a bid for the full six-year term.

Graham’s former communications director, Kevin Bishop, called it a “touching, lovely and humorous moment.” 

The Times/Siena survey, taken Oct. 19 to 26 among 707 likely voters, has Graham and Democrat Annie Andrews tied at 48% with 3% undecided and a 4.3-point margin of error. Independents break for Andrews 57% to 37%, and only 80% of Republicans back Graham against 97% of Democrats for Andrews. Men favor Graham 55% to 40%; women favor Andrews 54% to 43%.

Voters split on the issues: 51% say Andrews would do a better job on the economy to Graham’s 43%, while Graham leads on immigration, 50% to 44%. Andrews is better liked, at 45% favorable and 29% unfavorable against Graham’s 44% and 41%. Mediaite notes that South Carolina has not sent a Democrat to the Senate this century.

Republicans have been alarmed for days. Rep. Nancy Mace told MS NOW that “it’s a mess” and that Graham is “up in some surveys and down in others,” while a GOP official called the party’s spending of money and presidential time in the state “wild.” Ralph Norman, who lost the August primary to Graham, has declined to campaign with her.

Trump has spent his own time on her anyway. He rallied in Pendleton on Oct. 21, calling her “smart and incredible” and Andrews “one of the most crazy people in the entire country.” According to the Daily Mail, he scrapped a planned in-person rally for Saturday, is working from Palm Beach and hosting tele-rallies, and will visit Kansas and Iowa on Sunday.

The Daily Mail’s blog puts the Graham gaffe inside a wider slide. Prediction market Kalshi expects Democrats to take Congress by a wide margin, and early-vote figures it cites show more than 48 million ballots cast, 47% from Democrats against 35% from Republicans. Sen. Ted Cruz, on his podcast, said he is “deeply, deeply worried” about turnout.

Graham’s own record gave opponents material before this week. Trump endorsed her for a full term, and she then flubbed a primary debate, saying she was “not that informed on national security.” She has never held elected office, and MS NOW reports that 26% of likely voters in the Times/Siena poll said they back Andrews because of negative views of Graham’s character or competence.

Andrews, a pediatrician, has drawn endorsements from former governors of both parties, per MS NOW. Trump has accused her of supporting surgeries for transgender minors, which she denies. Cook Political Report rates the seat Lean Republican, and voting ends Tuesday.