The former one-term Democratic congresswoman sees 2018 as the "year of the woman" — it is an election cycle with a record-breaking number of female candidates — and Graham stands alone as the only woman in either party running in this crowded, costly and wide-open governor's race. "Gwen and the men" as Graham quipped at a recent Democratic debate, referring to her primary challengers.

"I don't know that this team has ever looked at gender," said Deputy Press Secretary Lindsay Walters, a veteran of the Republican National Committee's communication department. "You should want a seat at the table as a female because you are qualified to be at the table ... not because it's a pity card. And I think you're seeing that here.”