October 16, 2026

The American Conservative Morning Briefing · Oct 16, 2026 · 4m

Good morning! Today is Friday, October 16th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. In South Carolina, Senator Darline Graham is clinging to a one-point lead over Democrat Annie Andrews, as voter anger over the Iran war and six-dollar diesel threatens to flip a seat her brother Lindsey won by ten points in 2020. Jack Hunter reports that unease over the seat passing by "bloodright," combined with lingering support for America First primary challenger Ralph Norman, has some conservatives floating a write-in campaign against the appointed senator. Jude Russo argues that…