Campaign buttons and blue balloons decorated Pearlz Oyster Bar in the Vista, celebrating the candidacy of a mother and pediatrician from Charleston for the U.S. Senate. 

Democrat Annie Andrews has entered the 2026 race for a seat in the U.S. Senate, coming in from the sidelines, she said, to end the decades-long tenure of Republican Sen. Lindsay Graham of Oconee. 

“I consider myself a true public servant, and I see politics as a path to solve all the problems that I witnessed every day for those 20 years I’ve spent working in children’s hospitals,” Andrews said at the March 24 event.

Having cared for children with bullet holes in them and with chronic diseases requiring expensive treatments, Andrews said, she searched for politicians who would fight for American families. But she said she but didn’t find officials who met that description. 

So she put herself in the running. Andrews made her debut in politics in 2021, when she went against Nancy Mace of the Isle of Palms to represent S.C. in the U.S. House.

Although the Charlestonian lost to Mace, Andrews said she was proud of the race and that she didn’t quit.

“I’ve been here fighting for kids and families every day since, because this was never about me being a congresswoman,” Andrews said. “This isn’t about me being a senator. This is about me solving problems that South Carolina kids and families are facing.”

As for this election cycle, Andrews is fixed on going after Graham come November 2026.

First, she has to get through fellow June 9 primary contestants Brandon Brown, Catherine Fleming Bruce, Kyle Freeman and Christopher Giracello.

As senator, Andrews said her first and foremost priority would be fixing America’s broken healthcare system, primarily through fully funding Medicaid and protecting Medicare and Social Security. 

Her campaign also focuses on what she said is the cost-of-living emergency Americans face, rooting out the corruption in D.C., improving women’s healthcare, climate change as well as gun violence. 

Andrew’s policy agenda resonates with her supporters, such as Kathy Coskrey, a guest at Andrews’ filing event who is a mother and a teacher. 

“She’s the total package,” Coskrey said. “I really like that she’s going to stand up for women’s rights, I mean, we need to be able to make our own decisions.”

The current state of women’s healthcare in South Carolina is a factor in driving away her family.

“I have two daughters who are in their 20s, and they don’t want to live in South Carolina,” Coskrey said. 

Coskrey and her family aren’t the only ones vocal about being fed up with S.C. politicians and their priorities. The current generation of college Democrats is also pushing their peers to advocate for change.

“We’re like, outdated and old, and we’re kind of stuck a little bit in that old Southern past,” said USC student Sophia Baranowski. “We’ve had the same senator for almost 25 years.”

Baranowski started following Andrew’s journey earlier this year. Also from Charleston, she felt inspired to see a woman from her hometown be willing to put her full-time career aside and take charge of booting Graham from Washington.

Baranowski urges her generation to be more like Andrews and get more involved in whatever way possible. 

“Look into this midterm race, look into these candidates, look into Annie Andrews and why she’s running,” Baranowski said. “And then look at who is running against her, and do the research for yourself.”