MYRTLE BEACH – In the wake of US Congressman Tom Rice’s vote for the impeachment of President Donald Trump and his censorship by the state GOP Party, state deputy Russell Fry is considering running against the congressman in the 2022 GOP primaries, potentially presenting the most formidable challenge. de Rice however, since the first time he won the chair eight years ago.
Fry, a 36-year-old Surfside Beach Republican, told the Post and Courier that he has started contacting donors and Republican Party members while exploring the mounting of a campaign against the 63-year-old Republican MP.
“I have been a champion of conservative ideals all my life. Even as a younger member of the delegation, I am in the arena every day while most work on the issues that South Carolina faces,” Fry told the Post and Courier. “I am working on them daily.”
Although Fry said he respects Rice, the state legislator said he heard supporters and voters asking him to consider running for the seat in the weeks since Rice was one of 10 Republicans to vote for Trump’s impeachment for inciting the deadly turmoil of January 6 at the US Capitol.
Fry, a lawyer in his fourth term at the Statehouse, said he would not have voted to impeach the president if he had been in Congress.
“When you receive unsolicited calls and communications from people across the 7th (Congress) district, you pay attention,” said Fry. “These people are activists and donors, some of them are friends of mine and some are people I have never met.”
Fry is the latest in a wave of Republican politicians in the 7th Congressional District declaring their interest in a major challenge from Rice, an accountant from Myrtle Beach who was chairman of the Horry County Council.
State Representative William Bailey, a second-term lawmaker who served as North Myrtle Beach’s public security director, announced his intention to challenge Rice a few days before Fry.
But Fry is seen as a more serious threat to Rice, who said the state party was “shrinking from Donald Trump” by censoring him on Saturday and not seeing the former president’s role in the turmoil. Rice, who hindered Trump in his presidential contests, was the Republican in the South to vote in favor of impeachment and the only member of Congress to support both the objection to the 2020 election results and the subsequent impeachment.
Fry is considered a newcomer to the Republican Party’s state policy. He is the head of the Republican whip in the House, working to develop the party’s legislative agenda and garner support for high-profile issues, and a former member of the SC Republican Party executive committee, the panel that censored Rice.
And like Rice, Fry, an Eagle Scout who graduated from the University of South Carolina and Charleston Law School, she has not attracted a serious opponent in the primaries in recent election cycles.
SC House majority leader Gary Simrill, R-Rock Hill, said he expects Fry to be a strong candidate, pointing to his “great networking and fundraising capacity.”
“He represents his constituents well and works hard to be effective in Columbia, so he can bring those same characteristics to DC,” said Simrill. “He has all the foundations in place.”
With his state party experience, his ties to representatives from across the region can be beneficial as Fry gathers support in the district that spans Chesterfield, Dillon, Georgetown, Horry, Marlboro, Darlington and Marion counties, as well as part of the county. from Florence.
The 7th congressional district requires the candidate to develop support beyond his home areas. But most votes are based on Horry, giving candidates an advantage.
The position of majority leader in the House is among the most powerful members of the state, giving Fry political connections across South Carolina and suggesting that he has earned the respect of Republican Party leaders as someone capable of helping the party achieve legislative success.
“I think my experiences show how seriously I approach public policy,” said Fry.
Some of his main legislative priorities include dealing with the opioid crisis, which earned him the seat of chairman on a committee to address the issue, as well as ending human trafficking.
Simrill said that Fry’s work in the opioid crisis showed his ability to tackle a difficult issue and work well with other lawmakers.
“If you look at the success he has had in a short period of time in Colombia and his ability to work effectively, not only within his own party, but across the corridor, these are the characteristics of effective leadership” said Simrill. “There are people who like to make a statement and others who like to make a difference. He makes a difference.”
If elected to Congress, said Fry, like Rice, he would continue to support conservative issues related to Second Amendment rights, as well as supporting anti-abortion policies. He said he also supports Interstate 73 and will continue to play an important role in ensuring its completion.