Darline Graham’s China Crackdown Pledge Clashes With Husband’s 97% China-Linked Imports
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Oct 10
Darline Graham’s China Crackdown Pledge Clashes With Husband’s 97% China-Linked Imports
1 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Oct 10
Summary
Company filings and shipping records show Darline Graham’s husband, Larry Nordone, works at two South Carolina companies that depend on Chinese manufacturing, undercutting her campaign vow to reduce U.S. reliance on China.
More than 97% of Birchwood Trading’s imported containers since 2013 appear to be from China, while 16 of 28 Cosmox North America shipments logged from February 2025 to September 2026 came from Chinese supplier Zhongzhou Machinery Works.
ZZM had advertised ties to major Chinese defense firms including Norinco and Poly Technologies; after questions this month, it removed those references and language about “military-grade” capabilities, saying the material was outdated.
Graham’s spokeswoman said Nordone is a customer-service director without any ownership stake and that her Senate disclosure is accurate because he is paid through Birchwood Trading, but she did not address any conflict with Graham’s anti-China stance.
The report lands before Graham’s only scheduled general-election debate Sunday against Democrat Annie Andrews in the race for the South Carolina Senate seat she was appointed to after her brother Lindsey Graham died in July.