A candidate backed by former President Donald Trump defeated Congressman Tom Rice in Tuesday’s South Carolina GOP major after the five-term incumbent voted to question Trump over the Jan. 6 revolt.
State lawmaker Russell Fry defeated Rice within the seventh Congressional District when he garnered roughly double the variety of votes the congress member obtained within the Republican major election.
By the point the race was known as by The Related Press, Fry had earned 51% of votes in comparison with the incumbent’s 25% — with about 95% of votes tallied.
Fry, who was elected to the state legislature in 2015, was endorsed by Trump and has repeatedly slammed Rice as a RINO, a.okay.a. Republican In Identify Solely.
Rice was considered one of 10 Republicans who voted to question Trump on a depend of incitement of revolt following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Trump known as Rice a “coward who deserted his constituents by caving to Nancy Pelosi and the Radical Left” and stated he should be thrown out of workplace in February, whereas concurrently endorsing Fry.
The forty fifth president captured 59% of the vote in South Carolina’s seventh District in 2020, based on native newspaper The Publish and Courier.
After Rice voted to question Trump, a number of Republican challengers determined to run in opposition to him for a complete of seven names on the GOP poll. Barbara Arthur got here in third with greater than 13% of the vote.
One other Palmetto State Republican incumbent, freshman Rep. Nancy Mace, confronted a Trump-endorsed challenger in her district major however was in a position to maintain onto her seat.
Mace captured practically 53% p.c of votes, whereas Trump’s choose, state Rep. Katie Arrington, earned about 45% within the GOP major for the first District, with 89% of votes counted — narrowly lacking a run-off.
Mace grew the ire of Trump after she publicly criticized him over the Jan. 6 riot. In flip, the previous president backed Arrington.
“Nancy fights Republicans on a regular basis and isn’t in any respect good about it,” Trump stated in a press release Sunday evening. “Frankly, she is despised by virtually everybody, and who wants that in Congress, or within the Republican Get together?”
Fry will face Democrat Daryl Scott and Mace will face Democrat Annie Andrews in November. Each GOPers are anticipated to simply win within the basic election.
