Lindsey Graham’s days as a Republican mainstay may be numbered if former South Carolina Lt. Gov. André Bauer has anything to say about it. Speaking to Breitbart News at the Turning Point Student Action Summit in Tampa, Bauer launched a full-throated offensive against the longtime senator, branding him “a puppet for the Democrats” and a “viper of the Senate” who no longer represents the values of his conservative base.
“He’s been there since Moby Dick was a minnow,” Bauer quipped, mocking Graham’s 30-year career in Congress and highlighting his own record of imposing term limits on himself. “I’m a business guy at heart,” Bauer said, emphasizing his 15-year hiatus from politics during which he returned to the private sector, avoiding the lobbying circuit altogether.
That contrast couldn’t be starker in Bauer’s view. While he’s focused on South Carolina and putting America first, Graham is globe-trotting and meddling in foreign conflicts. “He’s probably been to Ukraine more than he’s been to Union, South Carolina in the last 30 years,” Bauer said, underscoring how Graham’s priorities have shifted far from his constituents.
The frustration runs deep. Bauer blasted Graham for using his influence to funnel taxpayer dollars into global projects, including over $100 million through USAID—money Bauer argues should have been spent securing America’s border and solving problems at home. “We want to see dollars allocated to the problems in our state and not all around the globe,” he insisted.
While President Trump has technically endorsed Graham in past elections, Bauer believes the tide is turning. “I was one of the first people to endorse Trump in 2016,” Bauer reminded, citing his own MAGA credentials. He was even appointed ambassador to Belize by Trump. And despite sharing a stage with Graham at times, Bauer recalls a recent moment when the senator was booed off the stage in his own hometown of Pickens—while Bauer was warmly welcomed.
“I understand this is swamp,” he said, acknowledging the political chess Trump must play in Washington. “But let’s send him some people that are real conservative, that are real MAGA, that don’t flip flop.” According to Bauer, Graham has fought with his own party for nearly a decade and hasn’t faced a serious primary challenger until now.
Bauer believes the conditions are ripe for a major upset. “We have a real opportunity tonight to knock off one of the vipers of the Senate,” he declared, predicting not just a Trump resurgence but a broader conservative revolt. “Thom Tillis is going to be gone, McConnell’s going to be gone…” and if Bauer has his way, Graham will be next.
Bauer didn’t hold back on Graham’s voting record either, pointing out that the South Carolina senator voted with Joe Biden 70 percent of the time in 2022. “Let us not forget, he’s the one that said Joe Biden’s one of the finest men he ever met,” Bauer added, listing Graham’s confirmation votes for Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, and Sonia Sotomayor as further proof of his betrayal.
“He’s not looking out for our interests,” Bauer said. “He’s a puppet for the Democrats.”
As Graham’s long political career collides with a rising tide of anti-establishment energy, Bauer is betting that voters in South Carolina—and across the MAGA movement—are ready to send a message loud and clear: no more swamp creatures, especially not from the Republican Party.