(José Niño, Headline USA) Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., confronted his toughest Republican primary challenge in years as two America First candidates attacked his hawkish foreign policy record and refused to bend to accusations of antisemitism, Breitbart reported.
Graham faces Paul Dans, the architect of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, and Mark Lynch, a businessman who has already spent over $1 million on his campaign. A recent poll sponsored by Lynch showed Graham stuck at just 41 percent on an initial ballot, which would force a runoff, while Lynch surged to 34 percent on an “informed ballot.”
On April 3, 2026, Graham held a press conference displaying printed screenshots of social media posts from campaign staffers working for both opponents, calling the posts antisemitic and demanding the staffers be terminated.
Graham targeted Vish Burra, Paul Dans’ campaign director, who was fired from One America News in November 2025 after posting an AI generated cartoon depicting Jewish people as cockroaches in a “Scheming Room” adorned with Stars of David. Graham noted that Dans hired Burra just two months after being fired. Jewish Insider confirmed Burra’s termination from OAN over the antisemitic post.
Graham also displayed posts from Evan Mulch, Mark Lynch’s political director, which allegedly showed a shoe crushing a Talmud and called the Jewish text “hate-filled towards Jesus Christ.” Other posts attributed to Mulch reportedly questioned women’s right to vote.
Graham condemned these views and demanded that both campaigns fire the staffers responsible, warning that tolerating such rhetoric would damage the Republican Party.
Both Dans and Lynch rejected Graham’s demands and characterized his move as a political attack.
Dans declined to fire Burra and instead criticized Graham’s record, framing the press conference as an establishment attempt to distract from substantive policy issues. Dans has previously positioned himself as “America First and not Israel First” and appeared on Tucker Carlson’s show to criticize Graham’s pro-Israel foreign policy stance, the Algemeiner reported.
Lynch characterized Graham’s allegations as a political maneuver rather than genuine concern.
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
