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Veteran incumbent U.S. senator Lindsey Graham recently announced the hiring of top Donald Trump strategist Chris LaCivita as a senior advisor to his 2026 reelection campaign. LaCivitia joins Graham’s team as a field of potential GOP challengers to the four-term senator emerges, with former South Carolina lieutenant governor André Bauer announcing his candidacy this week.
LaCivita, born in 1966 in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, served in the First Gulf War as a U.S. Marine, achieving the rank of Sergeant and earning a Purple Heart. He began his career as a Republican political operative in the mid 1990s, and quickly established a reputation for winning races.
In 2000, LaCivitia managed George Allen‘s successful Virginia gubernatorial bid, unseating a 12-year incumbent in the process. In 2004 he produced the “swift boat” advertisements that challenged former U.S. senator John Kerry‘s military service.
Kerry went on to lose the general election to then-incumbent president George W. Bush.
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RELATED | ANDRE BAUER TO CHALLENGE GRAHAM
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LaCivitia was a senior advisor to U.S. senator Ron Johnson‘s victorious 2022 campaign prior to co-managing Donald Trump’s successful 2024 presidential campaign with Susie Wiles.
While Trump’s 2016 and 2020 campaigns both featured late summer shake-ups resulting in the removal of top campaign personnell, his 2024 bid saw LaCivita and Wiles maintain their leadership roles until election day, with Wiles subsequently serving as Trump’s White House chief of staff.
In the wake of Trump’s 2024 victory, LaCivita took a lower-profile role, joining 501c4 Building America’s Future (BAF) alongside the campaign’s chief pollster Tony Fabrizio.
“We look forward to helping guide BAF and their efforts to promote President Trump’s America First agenda,” the pair said in a statement announcing their new positions.
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As the midterm election battle lines are drawn, it’s becoming increasingly clear that Trump’s “America First agenda” includes protecting Graham.
While Trump endorsed Graham in March, there has been speculation he would not aggressively campaign against Bauer, one of the first Palmetto State politicians to appear alongside him and endorse his candidacy.
Bauer is the first serious GOP challenger to Graham, who is disliked by large swaths of the South Carolina GOP electorate. In 2020, Graham – who has never faced a credible reelection challenge – received an underwhelming 67.6% of the GOP primary vote.
Trump’s Palmetto State base dislikes Graham, as evidenced by the sustained cacophony of boos and jeers emitted when Graham campaigned alongside Trump in Pickens, S.C. in 2023.
“He’s ~3 mins into his speech, praising Trump and talking about helping him, and still being booed,” reporter Dylan Wells noted on X.
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Lindsey Graham makes an appearance at the Trump Rally in Pickens, SC and the response is GLORIOUS!!!! ????
— ??? KC ??? (@KCPayTreeIt) July 1, 2023
He is obliterated in his own state as he is bombarded with a round of boo’s! ?
Sound Up ??? pic.twitter.com/GJIvU4XXVt
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Despite this, Trump tapping LaCivita is a sign of serious MAGA support for Graham’s campaign.
“President Trump has made it clear that he wants Senator Graham by his side to keep delivering results and I’m proud to do my part to ensure that happens,” LaCivita said in a statement released by Graham’s campaign. “I’m excited to help reelect Senator Graham as he continues to bring the America First agenda home to South Carolina.”
When asked to opine on the significance of LaCivita joining “team Graham,” veteran S.C. political consultant Wesley Donehue emphasized his record ruthless efficacy which predates his association with Trump.
“Chris LaCivita is the best political consultant in America, maybe on the planet, and that was before Trump,” Donehue said. “Sure, his relationship with the President matters, but he’ll curb stomp your teeth out on his own.”
LaCivita’s entrance into Palmetto Politics comes as the former director of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, Paul Dans reportedly is making phone calls gauging support for his potential candidacy against Graham.
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RELATED | PROJECT 2025 ARCHITECT MULLS BID FOR U.S. SENATE
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Dans and LaCivita publicly sparred when Trump’s campaign worked to distance themselves from Project 2025 as both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris weaponized the now infamous 900-plus-page “Mandate for Leadership” policy playbook against Trump in the run-up to the 2024 election.
“Reports of Project 2025’s demise would be greatly welcomed, and should serve as notice to anyone or any group trying to misrepresent their influence with President Trump and his campaign — it will not end well for you,” a statement co-authored by Wiles and LaCivita read.
As FITSNews noted last month, defeating Graham will not be easy… no matter who emerges as his top challenger.
GOP voters head to the polls next spring (June 9, 2026). In the event no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast, the top two finishers would face off in a runoff election two weeks later (June 23, 2026).
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
(Via: Travis Bell)
Dylan Nolan is the director of special projects at FITSNews. He graduated from the Darla Moore school of business in 2021 with an accounting degree. Got a tip or story idea for Dylan? Email him here. You can also engage him socially @DNolan2000.
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