Project 2025 architect to challenge Lindsey Graham for Senate in South Carolina

Paul Dans, the architect of Project 2025, is launching a Senate bid in South Carolina to oust Lindsey Graham.

Dans is set to announce his Republican primary bid with a formal launch Wednesday in Charleston. Graham is a close Trump ally but has for years faced skepticism from his MAGA allies. He is already facing a challenge from former Lt. Gov. André Bauer. President Donald Trump earlier this year offered Graham his “Complete and Total Endorsement.”

“I want to run for our children,” Dans said in an interview with NBC News on Monday. “I want to run to stop World War III. I want to run to make the American dream affordable for the next generation, but really to keep this great country in shape for another 250 years. This time, the patriots stood up and said, ‘Enough is enough.’ We need to have a government of, by and for the people, again. Not by swamp critters like Lindsey Graham.”

The Post and Courier first reported Dans’ entry into the race Monday.

Dans pointed to Graham’s criticism of Trump during the 2016 campaign and criticized his championing of U.S. support for Ukraine both prior to and after Russia invaded in 2022. Asked if he spoke with Trump or the White House prior to launching his bid, Dans said the people he speaks with “are in South Carolina.”

“This is their Senate seat,” Dans said. “This is our Senate seat. I am the hugest Trump fan and backer. I have been a tireless supporter and warrior for him and America First. I was with him in all the dark moments of 2020. … I fought for him in turning around the government agencies.”

Last year, Dans oversaw Project 2025, the right-wing transition plan and policy blueprint that became the focal point of Democratic attacks against Trump. The project launched with the premise of setting up a future right-wing administration to govern on Day 1 with more preparation and planning than Trump had for his first term, and it included plans to radically restructure the civil service, provide a database of MAGA-inspired hires and offer a wide range of right-wing policy plans.

While Trump disavowed the plan and Dans was forced out at the Heritage Foundation — the conservative think tank where he organized the effort — many of the policy prescriptions have been undertaken by the Trump administration, and a number of contributors to the project have landed jobs there, too.

“I feel like Trump has endorsed me already, and he does that every day when his administration moves out and does great conservative actions that are reflected in Project 2025,” Dans added.

In a statement, Chris LaCivita, a senior adviser to Graham’s campaign and Trump’s 2024 co-campaign manager, pointed to Trump and his campaign’s criticism of Dans and Project 2025 during last year’s presidential race.

“After being unceremoniously dumped in 2024 while trying to torpedo Donald Trump’s historic campaign, Paul Dans has parachuted himself into the state of South Carolina in direct opposition to President Trump’s longtime friend and ally in the Senate, Lindsey Graham,” LaCivita said. “Like everything Paul Dans starts, this too will end prematurely.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Asked about Trump’s endorsement of Graham, Dans said it should be remembered that Trump previously offered his endorsement to Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who has also drawn the ire of both Trump and the MAGA base.

“This is a battle for the future of MAGA,” Dans said. “This is really the turning point election that asks whether MAGA will sink back into the swamp and be subsumed, or whether this great movement will continue to grow, and the waters of the swamp retreat in Washington, and swamp critters like Lindsey are left to bake in the Palmetto sun.”

“That’s the promise of 2026,” he added. “We need a new generation, the next generation for MAGA who are warriors, who’ve actually put the plan in place that President Trump is executing on now.”