Who is Darline Graham Nordone, Sen. Lindsey Graham's sister?

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Darline Graham Nordone, who was appointed to serve the remaining months of the Senate term that her late brother, Lindsey Graham, left behind when he died over the weekend, hasn't been in office before.

But through her brother's decades of public service, Nordone has been by his side, supporting him in speeches, appearances and even campaign ads.

Besides being a frequent attendee at Graham's political events, Nordone is woven deeply into her brother's personal and political biography. After both of their parents died in just over a year, Graham, then age 22, became legal guardian for his 13-year-old sister.

Now, after South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster tapped Nordone to serve in Graham's seat until January, Nordone is heading to Washington, tasked with representing the interests for which her brother advocated with passion.

A special primary held next month will sort out what Republican moves forward in the general election to face Democrat Annie Andrews in November.

While Graham was in his early 20s, his life — and that of his sister — was turned upside down. Their mother died in 1976 after battling Hodgkin's lymphoma. Fifteen months later, his sister, then 13, discovered their father after he suffered a heart attack in his sleep and died.

Graham was just beginning law school at the University of South Carolina. With both parents gone, he pivoted, saying that his chief goal was to ensure his sister was cared for.

“I can remember the day my father passed away, standing in the living room of that house, absolutely scared to death,” Nordone told NPR in 2015. “Lindsey wrapped his arms around me and promised me he would always be there for me and always take care of me.”

Making regular treks from school in Columbia to Seneca, where his sister was being looked after by relatives, Graham kept tabs on his sister from then on and became her legal guardian. After he became a military lawyer in the Air Force, he adopted her, to ensure that she would receive his military benefits.

Graham, who never married or had children of his own, once joked as he ran for president in 2016 that his sister could be among a “rotating” cast of White House hosts standing in as first lady.

But the bond between the two, aside from being integral to Graham’s own biography, was evident in their public appearances. When Graham filed his candidacy paperwork in March for this year’s election, Nordone was by his side, along with her children and grandchildren.

“What have I learned in this life I’ve led? I take nothing for granted. I count every blessing, every day,” Graham said then, going on to recount how he and his sister forged through life together from that point. “I understand what a blessing my life has been and the only way I can pay you back for the blessings I’ve received is to be the most thoughtful, relevant, aggressive senator.”

Nordone married, had children and ultimately grandchildren and has worked with people with disabilities. Talking to C-SPAN in 2015, Graham said of his own life that his sister's success “is the highlight of it, by far.”

Bob McAlister, a former consultant to Graham on several campaigns, reflected on how the difficulties in their growing up bonded the siblings in a way that most would not understand.

“He grew up with nothing,” McAlister said. “The back of the bar where he and his sister grew up was always kind of top of mind to him. ... And I think the way he and Darline grew up just had an indelible impact on him, and for some reason, it gave him the drive that he had to do what he did.”

“A lot of people have different ideas about Lindsey from what they’ve seen on TV and all that, but everything about him can be traced back to his boyhood, the way he grew up, the way he took care of his sister," McAlister added.

Graham often talked about his background, and the plight he shared with his sister, in campaign appearances, and she was there for many of them.

She also popped up in a 2014 campaign ad, as Graham sought a third Senate term, saying he brought assurances after their parents' deaths that he would take care of her.

“He never let me down. Never. I don’t see how he did it, to take on the responsibility of raising a little sister,” Nordone said. "That came from within for Lindsey.”

Hours ahead of McMaster's announcement, President Donald Trump said on social media that he had recommended that the governor pick Nordone, calling the selection “a fabulous tribute to Lindsey, who loved her dearly!”

Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP.

FILE - Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., right, hugs his sister Darline Graham Nordone, after announcing his bid for presidency, June 1, 2015, in Central, S.C. (AP Photo/Rainier Ehrhardt, File)

FILE - Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., left, hugs his sister Darline Graham Nordone, after announcing his bid for presidency, June 1, 2015, in Central, S.C. (AP Photo/Rainier Ehrhardt, File)

FILE - Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., right, hugs his sister Darline Graham after filing for the South Carolina presidential primary, Sept. 1, 2015, at the GOP headquarters in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Richard Shiro, File)

FILE - Darline Graham Nordone, sister of Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., walks to the stage before his announcement for presidency on Monday, June 1, 2015, in Central, S.C. (AP Photo/Rainier Ehrhardt, File)

FILE - Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., accompanied by his sister Darline, left, speaks at the GOP headquarters in Columbia, S.C., Sept. 1, 2015, where he filed for the South Carolina Presidential Primary. (AP Photo/Richard Shiro, File)

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Kylian Mbappé and France haven’t trailed at all in this year's World Cup. Neither has Spain with teenage sensation Lamine Yamal and clutch goal-scoring substitute Mikel Merino.

Only one of those teams can make it to the final.

France and Spain, both at their 17th World Cup, have met only once previously on soccer’s biggest stage. They play Tuesday at the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys in the first of two powerhouse semifinal matches.

After entering this tournament as FIFA’s top-ranked team, France has outscored its opponents 14-2. Mbappé, the 2022 Golden Boot winner, has eight goals to match Lionel Messi for the scoring lead this time, and is one behind the Argentina captain’s career record of 21 at the World Cup.

“We are confident, of course, with the course we have done so far, and we have to be," France midfielder Adrien Rabiot said. "But always with this humility that has characterized us since the beginning of the competition.”

The 27-year-old Mbappé has 20 goals in his 20 World Cup matches, including one in the 2018 win over Croatia when he joined Pele as the only teenagers to score in a World Cup final. Coach Didier Deschamps said Mbappé is fine physically after exiting in the 77th minute of Les Bleus' quarterfinal win over Morocco after scoring a goal.

Yamal, who turned 19 on Monday, has already been part of two semifinal wins with Spain over France. He was just days shy of his 17th birthday when he scored in a 2-1 win during the 2024 European Championship semifinals, and Spain won 5-4 in Nations League play last year.

“I believe if France has to fear anyone, it should be us, in my opinion,” Yamal said after Spain's quarterfinal victory over Belgium. “We were the ones that knocked them out before.”

The teen has only one goal while putting 10 shots on target after coming into this World Cup still nursing a left hamstring issue. He missed the final weeks of the season for Spanish club Barcelona.

“It’s the most important match I’m going to play,” Yamal said Monday, adding his best birthday gift would be a victory and trip to the final. “We are all so excited, especially me.”

France defender Jules Koundé also plays for Barcelona, so he knows Yamal well and didn't feel disrespected by the earlier comments.

“He always does it with (Barcelona). He trusts a lot in his virtues, in the virtues of the team where he plays,” Koundé said in translated remarks. “An extra motivation for him and that’s it, that’s all.”

Spain has outscored opponents 10-1 since a scoreless draw against surprising Cape Verde to open group play, but La Roja got late decisive goals from Merino as a late substitute in the past two games. And goaltender Unai Simón set a World Cup record of 650 minutes without allowing a goal until Belgium scored in the 41st minute of their quarterfinal game.

“I think that from the first game until today, the team needed to catch the rhythm, we had been without seeing each other for a long time,” Spain midfielder Alex Baena said, adding that with more games and practices “the better the team has been.”

Merino scored in the 88th minute for that 2-1 win over Belgium on Friday. That came after the Arsenal forward’s goal in the first minute of second-half stoppage time for the 1-0 win over Portugal in the round of 16 at the same stadium where Spain's semifinal match will be played.

This is the first World Cup since 1990 that each of the final four teams are former champions.

Messi and defending champion Argentina, which beat France for the title in 2022, play England in the other semifinal match Wednesday in Atlanta.

The championship match is Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, across the river from New York City. A third-place game will be played Saturday in Miami Gardens, Florida.

In their only previous World Cup meeting, France beat Spain 3-1 in a round of 16 game at the 2006 tournament in Germany.

Both teams have won the World Cup since then. Spain claimed its only title in 2010, and France won its second World Cup in 2018.

France, which will be playing on its country's Bastille Day national holiday, is trying to join five-time champion Brazil and four-time winner Germany as the only teams to make three consecutive World Cup finals. Brazil did it in 1994, 1998 and 2002 — winning two titles and losing to host France in the middle of that run. Germany’s championship in 1990 came after being runner-up in the previous two World Cups — all playing as West Germany at the time.

Argentina beat France in a penalty shootout in 2022 after playing to a 3-3 draw.

This is France's seventh semifinal appearance, its fifth in the last eight World Cups. Spain's only other semifinals were in 1950 and then 2010 on the way to the title.

AT&T Stadium in North Texas will be hosting its tournament-high ninth game, and in that one-month run there have been some soccer superstar moments in the building that has hosted a Super Bowl and NCAA championship games for football and men's basketball.

Messi scored three goals in Argentina's two group games, the first on June 22 when after missing a penalty kick he broke the World Cup career scoring mark with the first of his two goals in a 2-0 win over Austria. He added another goal as a late substitute in the group finale June 27 against Jordan.

Cristiano Ronaldo, the 41-year-old superstar from Portugal, finished his sixth and final World Cup in the 1-0 round of 16 loss to Spain on July 6.

See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Spain's Lamine Yamal participates in a training session ahead of his team's semifinal soccer match against France, Monday, July 13, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

France's Kylian Mbappe participates in a training session ahead of the team's semifinal soccer match against Spain, Monday, July 13, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

France's Kylian Mbappe (10) celebrates scoring the opening goal during the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between France and Morocco in Foxborough, Mass., near Boston, Thursday, July 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Spain's Mikel Merino (6) celebrates after their win in the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Spain and Belgium in Inglewood, Calif., near Los Angeles, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

France head coach Didier Deschamps smiles after hugging France's Kylian Mbappe (10) after France defeated Morocco in the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between France and Morocco in Foxborough, Mass., near Boston, Thursday, July 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Spain's Lamine Yamal waves as he walks off the pitch after the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Spain and Belgium in Inglewood, Calif., near Los Angeles, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

France's Kylian Mbappe (10) celebrates after winning the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between France and Morocco in Foxborough, Mass., near Boston, Thursday, July 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)