Casts entering politics as answering Trump's call rather than personal ambition: 'I never expected to be on this stage... I've never had any desire to be a politician. I'm here today because I'm answering President Trump's call to serve. I want to stand up for South Carolina, and I want to fight for President Trump's agenda.'

Says he supports the president's agenda despite Trump having endorsed his opponent in this race, framing loyalty as compatible with dissent: 'You can disagree with him. He loves competing ideas,' arguing the president wants differing viewpoints heard before he makes a final call.

Calls the $40 trillion national debt his top concern, saying Congress has 'a spending problem,' not an income problem. Voted against the 2023 Fiscal Responsibility Act for not cutting enough, and wants offsets required for new federal spending while targeting mandatory programs, over 70% of the budget.

Cites her time leading the SC Commission for the Blind — an agency she describes as having 10 offices, more than 130 employees, and a $90 million budget — as a model for the federal budget: 'What do we need? What is wasteful? Where can we do more with less?' Says the government should budget like a family that cannot spend money it doesn't have.

Calls passing the SAVE Act's citizenship and voter-roll rules his top Senate priority, willing to go around the standard 60-vote threshold to do it: 'I will do whatever it takes to get that. That's a top priority — even if it means blowing the filibuster up.'

Supports ending the Senate filibuster to pass the SAVE America Act, breaking with her late brother and predecessor's opposition to that change: 'this is where I differ from my brother — getting rid of the filibuster to get this done, because eventually the Democrats are gonna get rid of it anyway.'

Backs full ICE funding, calling agents' work removing 'dangerous criminal illegal aliens' essential and saying Congress should keep giving them resources. Frames legal immigration as welcome — 'come legally, follow our laws, and live by our values' — and credits Trump's border enforcement record.

Has voted for detention and enforcement measures including the Laken Riley Act, mandating federal detention for unauthorized immigrants charged with theft or assault; the Kayla Hamilton Act, expanding detention for unaccompanied migrant minors; and a bill elevating illegal entry to a federal felony.

Says she will likely put more focus on affordability than her brother and predecessor did, who was focused on national security: 'Lindsey was focused on national security... but I will probably be focused more on affordability.' Also: 'I know what it is to struggle from week to week, paycheck to paycheck.'

Ties the cost-of-living squeeze to federal spending, arguing that tighter control of government spending, combined with lower energy costs and pro-growth policies, is the way to ease pressure on household budgets.

Opposes transgender athletes in women's and girls' sports, one of three planks in her first campaign video: 'Every life is precious, men don't belong in women's sports, and only American citizens should vote in our elections.'

Voted for the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, barring transgender athletes from female school sports teams, and has backed restrictions on gender-affirming care within federally funded programs — barring Medicaid coverage of such care and barring TRICARE/military-family coverage of it, alongside a separate vote restricting coverage specifically for minors.