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Paul Dans will run in the South Carolina primary highlighting the work of Project 2025, a conservative blueprint that President Trump has employed during his second term.
July 28, 2025, 4:26 p.m. ET
The Republican architect of Project 2025 — the right-wing blueprint that Democrats made a rallying cry in the presidential election last year — is mounting a primary challenge to Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, saying he isn’t sufficiently devoted to President Trump’s political movement.
As he begins his challenge, Paul Dans, who is not originally from South Carolina, starts out as a distinct underdog. Mr. Graham, who has the support of Mr. Trump, has won past primaries handily despite appearing vulnerable, and he is likely to have a significant financial edge.
But Mr. Dans plans to run highlighting the work of Project 2025, from which Mr. Trump distanced himself during his campaign before enacting significant portions of it into his government. And while Mr. Dans had nothing but praise for Mr. Trump, his candidacy comes at a moment when some of Mr. Trump’s hard-line allies have been critical of some decisions, including his authorization of military strikes in Iran and his handling of files in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.
He intends to cast Mr. Graham as an old-guard Republican who is not aligned with Mr. Trump’s movement.
“He’s the very reason MAGA came into being,” Mr. Dans said of the president’s political movement. “He’s essentially anti-MAGA.” In an interview, he characterized Mr. Graham’s Senate record as producing “three endless wars and over $30 trillion in debt.” He added: “He has done so much damage to the movement.”
Mr. Trump in March announced his backing of Mr. Graham, with whom he has worked closely since his first term, declaring that he would not “let you down.” Chris LaCivita, who helped run Mr. Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, is advising Mr. Graham’s campaign.
