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Republican

Paul Dans

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Republican

Paul Dans

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South Carolina Republican Senate nominee?

$737.0K

JUN 10, 2026

Primary Election

Party selects its nominee.

Overview

Current roleAttorney

PartyRepublican

Political ideologyConservative Republican

GenderMale

LocationSouth Carolina

BackgroundAttorney

EducationMassachusetts Institute of Technology (B.S., Economics)

Notable personal detailsPaul Dans is a Republican political operative and attorney who served in the Trump administration and later led The Heritage Foundation’s 2025 Presidential Transition Project (Project 2025). He has worked in roles including senior adviser at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and White House liaison/senior adviser at the Office of Personnel Management, and has practiced commercial litigation in New York City. He has been a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in South Carolina (2026 cycle).

SourcesShow

fec.gov docquery.fec.gov heritage.org pauldans.com en.wikipedia.org wikidata.org axios.com apnews.com linkedin.com fr.linkedin.com uk.linkedin.com ca.linkedin.com wikiland.org nl.linkedin.com pauldanielsjr.com cloudfront.mediamatters.org lofgren.house.gov scstatehouse.gov myscmc.org washingtonpost.com politifact.com 2025.aksi.co live5news.com theguardian.com project2025.org iheart.com advocate.com theweek.in abc11.com spglobal.com nrsc.org newsweek.com upi.com yahoo.com wistv.com ms.now greenvilleonline.com pbs.org nbcnews.com abcnews4.com scdailygazette.com politico.com wyff4.com msn.com dailygamecock.com x.com wng.org instagram.com facebook.com developer.ballotpedia.org paul.senate.gov senate.gov history.house.gov congress.gov dgraham.senate.gov scott.senate.gov govinfo.gov

Positions

LiberalConservative

Economy & Taxes

Paul Dans advocates reducing the size and cost of federal government, confronting the national debt, and advancing Project 2025 policy prescriptions that call for substantial tax-code changes including large tax reductions and simplification (e.g., fewer brackets and lower corporate rates). His campaign rhetoric emphasizes cutting spending and ending “endless” government programs. These positions align with a conservative, pro-tax-cut, limited-government economic approach.

Healthcare

Paul Dans, as the lead architect of Project 2025 and now a Senate candidate, advocates policy approaches that reduce the federal role in health programs and expand market-based or state-centered alternatives. Project 2025 — which Dans directed — includes proposals to tighten Medicaid eligibility, offer options to convert Medicaid into vouchers, and reduce federal oversight of health agencies. Dans has also criticized incumbent Lindsey Graham for not supporting "medical freedom," signaling opposition to federal mandates in public health policy.

Immigration & Border

The candidate is associated with Project 2025, a policy blueprint that calls for dramatically tougher immigration enforcement, including expanded deportations and interior enforcement, curtailing asylum and refugee admissions, and restructuring federal immigration agencies. The Project 2025 materials and reporting describe proposals to expand border barriers and enforcement capacity, end or sharply limit asylum/refugee pathways, and increase removals. These positions indicate an enforcement-first, restrictionist approach to immigration and border policy.

Abortion & Reproductive Rights

Paul Dans led the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, which includes policy proposals to significantly limit access to abortion (for example revoking FDA approval of mifepristone and restricting federal funding and cross-state access). Dans has characterized abortion as primarily a state issue and indicated opposition to federal imposition, while directing a policy project that advances restrictive measures.

Climate & Energy

Paul Dans led the conservative 'Project 2025' initiative and has expressed skepticism that human activity is the cause of climate change. The Project 2025 blueprint he directed calls for repealing major climate and clean‑energy policies, rolling back EPA and DOE authorities, and expanding fossil fuel production and deregulation.

News

AINews Summary

Last updatedJul 15, 2026

Paul Dans has dropped out of the South Carolina Republican Senate primary against Sen. Lindsey Graham. He has endorsed appliance business owner Mark Lynch instead. The move narrows the GOP field ahead of the June 9 primary, while Graham remains backed by Donald Trump and other leading Republicans.

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Articles

ZZeroHedge3 months ago