Lindsey Graham’s death revives a rare and controversial custom: Keeping a Senate seat in the family

Lindsey Graham’s sudden death earlier this month revived an unusual American tradition: filling Senate vacancies with family members.After the 71-year-old senator passed from an aortic rupture, South Carolina’s governor appointed his sister, Darline Graham, to serve out the remainder of his term. Graham, who previously led the state’s Commission for the Blind, announced this week that she will seek a full six-year term in November with the backing of President Donald Trump.

This type of ascension, while steeped in history, is extremely rare. Over the last century, only a handful of deceased or departing members have been replaced by kin, with most of the appointees being widows.The advantages are straightforward.

Relatives often arrive with built-in name recognition, familiarity with staffers and access to the same donor networks. They can offer continuity in a moment of disruption, and can serve as consensus candidates in a fractured field.But the practice also carries a whiff of the Old World.

The structure of the Senate is already fairly undemocratic, and family succession can reinforce that perception. Even if a replacement is qualified, their appointment inevitably invites questions about nepotism and fairness.“It is, frankly, a throwback to — not necessarily feudalism — but power by hereditary rule and the British crown,” Rob Richie, founder of the non-profit Expand Democracy, told The Independent.

“Here we are in America 250. That is something that we were rejecting, but obviously not completely escaping from.”open image in galleryDarline Graham, sister of Lindsey Graham, is ceremonially sworn in as a U.

S. Senator on July 14 to fill his seat, following his sudden death (AFP via Getty Images)An extremely rare practiceWhile House vacancies must be filled by election, the Senate process is different. The 17th Amendment, ratified in 1913, gives states the option to allow governors to make temporary appointments until a successor is elected.

State law determines whether and when a special election is held.Since 1913, only 12 Senate vacancies have gone to family members, making it an extremely rare practice, according to an analysis of Senate archives.The first was a trailblazer twice over.

In 1931, Hattie Caraway was appointed after her husband, Democratic Arkansas Senator Thaddeus Caraway, died of a blood clot. She went on to win election in 1932 and 1938, becoming the first-ever woman elected to the Senate. open image in galleryIn 2000, Jean Carnahan was appointed to replace her husband, Mel Carnahan, who died in a plane crash shortly before the election in which he was posthumously elected.

Pictured: US Senator-elect Jean Carnahan, Democrat of Missouri, speaks to the press in December 2000 (AFP via Getty Images)Another instance of so-called widow’s succession came in 2000 when Jean Carnahan was chosen to replace her husband, Mel Carnahan, who died in a plane crash shortly before he was elected to represent Missouri in the Senate. Upon arriving to Capitol Hill, her tone was understandably more solemn than celebratory.“I know I did not come to the U.

S. Senate in the same way you did,” Carnahan, a Democrat, told her new Senate colleagues. “My name has never been on a ballot.

On election night there was no victory celebration. You are here because of your win; I am here because of my loss. But we are all here to do the work of this great nation.”

Until now, the most recent senator to have filled in for a relative was Senator Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican. In 2002, then-Governor Frank Murkowski, who had just resigned from the Senate, tapped his daughter to succeed him — and she has since won election four times.Upsides: continuity, name recognition and the sympathy factorPolitical experts say there are multiple practical reasons governors might look to a senator’s widow, child or sibling when filling a vacant seat.

Chief among them is name recognition — something Darline Graham, who has never before held elected office, has in spades.Her late brother had occupied his Senate seat for more than two decades. During that time, he mounted a presidential bid and positioned himself as a powerful interlocutor between lawmakers, foreign leaders and Trump.

The scope of Lindsey Graham’s influence is perhaps most visible in death. His funeral, set for Tuesday at the National Cathedral, is expected to draw multiple world leaders, with Trump slated to deliver a tribute.“I mean, he's been in public life for over 30 years in South Carolina,” Gibbs Knotts, a political scientist and provost at Coastal Carolina University, told The Independent.

“Obviously she's got really, really strong name recognition.”open image in galleryLindsey Graham, one of the most influential GOP senators, died suddenly on July 14. A medical examiner said the cause of death was an aortic rupture caused by hardened arteries (Getty Images)Serving in Congress also inevitably means family involvement.

Relatives of lawmakers may already be familiar wi