Graham campaigning in Beaufort tonight

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham will be stumping during a Lowcountry boil he is hosting in Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park on Friday evening.

Tickets for the campaign event, scheduled from 5 to 6:30 p.m., are $5 each or $10 for a family.

The ticket money will go back to the campaign, though the event really isn't a fundraiser, campaign manager Scott Farmer said.

"It's not about raising money. We're going to actually lose money in the event," Farmer said.

Graham campaigned on Hilton Head Island and in Sun City Hilton Head in April. His last visit to Beaufort was in February 2007 when he spoke to the Beaufort Rotary Club.

Graham will face Buddy Witherspoon, a dentist and active Republican party member from Lexington County, in the June 10 primary. Witherspoon, who campaigned in Beaufort in April and south of the Broad River in December, has criticized Graham for his liberal or moderate leanings, especially on immigration reform.

First-quarter campaign finance reports show that Graham has $4.8 million on hand, raised mostly through individual donations. Witherspoon has $258,000 on hand, raised mostly through self-financing.