South Carolina GOP Rep. Tom Rice loses primary after his vote to impeach TrumpWashington Examiner, Jun 14, 2022
Republican Rep. Tom Rice lost his solidly conservative South Carolina House seat Tuesday after nearly a decade in Congress, which included his vote to impeach former President Donald Trump over the Jan. 6 riots.
Although Rice repeated his support for many Trump policies as he campaigned across South Carolina's 7th Congressional District, from Myrtle Beach to the Pee Dee region, he defended his decision to impeach Trump as "the principled stance."
Trump responded by endorsing South Carolina state Rep. Russell Fry. Fry blasted Rice, not only for his impeachment vote, but he also made allegations of self-enrichment and slammed the incumbent for his Democratic outreach. In reaction, Rice, a former tax lawyer, focused his hefty war chest on Fry, ripping him as "a tax-and-spender."
Fry on Tuesday secured more than 50% of the primary vote, avoiding a runoff with Rice on June 28.
Rice's race has received national attention, in part because of Trump's rally in the district. But Rice himself invited out-of-state Republicans to stump with him, such as former House Speaker Paul Ryan and ex-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, amplifying his Trump record.
During Ryan's visit, he and Rice sought to draw parallels between the South Carolina and Georgia Republican primaries, the latter in which Trump critics fended off challenges from Trump-endorsed opponents. Ryan and Rice also underscored Rice's work on tax reform and poverty alleviation as a member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.
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