Sen. Lindsey Graham to face growing GOP primary field

Catalina Camia | USA TODAY

The Republican field eager to challenge Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., is about to get larger.

Nancy Mace, the first female graduate of The Citadel who has strong ties to the Tea Party movement, posted on Facebook that she will announce her Senate campaign on Saturday.

State Sen. Lee Bright, a leading libertarian voice in the South Carolina Legislature, told The State newspaper that he plans to announce his campaign in a few weeks. Richard Cash, a businessman who lost a 2010 race for Congress, is already in the race.

The Graham campaign isn't commenting on the GOP primary challenges until candidates formally declare their candidacies.

Graham, who is seeking a third term in 2014, has long been considered a target for an intra-party challenge. He's been recognized for his conservative voting record — siding with the American Conservative Union 92% of the time in 2012 — and is widely viewed as one of the GOP's most prominent critics of President Obama's foreign policy and national security policies.

Still, some of Graham's actions haven't gotten favorable reviews back home. There was the time Graham supported Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court and voted for the government bailout of banks. More recently, Graham was part of the bipartisan "Gang of 8" that brokered the Senate's agreement on immigration.

With Gov. Nikki Haley, also a Republican, facing a potentially tough race against Democrat Vincent Sheheen next year, it looks as if South Carolina will be one of the political epicenters in 2014.

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