Big money pouring into SC07 GOP primary as Rice, Fry pull away from fundraising pack
More than $2.5 million has poured into the competitive, Trump-involved Republican primary race in South Carolina’s 7th Congressional District, newly released Federal Election Commission filings show.
The new filings track giving and spending by the crowded field of GOP contenders with incumbent U.S. Rep. Tom Rice (R-Myrtle Beach) still leading the fundraising field by a comfortable margin.
Spending reports for the first three months of the year were due April 15 and, as of the deadline, Rice has a $1.98 million war chest peppered with contributions from several big name Horry County business leaders and local elected officials. He’s also pulled in significant funds from Washington D.C.-based donors and political action committees.
The race, which will culminate at the June 14 primary election, has earned national attention because Rice voted to impeach former President Donald Trump in January 2021. Rice has said he joined House Democrats and nine other Republicans to impeach Trump because he felt Trump’s actions during the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol violated the U.S. Constitution.
Trump has since waged a campaign to oust Rice and other Republicans who impeached him or have criticized him, including U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-Daniel Island) in the Charleston area. Trump last year said he would back “good and smart” candidates who ran against Republicans like Rice and Mace.
In February, Trump endorsed state Rep. Russell Fry (R-Surfside Beach) against Rice. The two shared a stage at a March rally in Florence. Fry is leaving his Statehouse seat behind to run for Congress.
Fry, in the first quarter of 2021, managed to pull in $268,093, though his campaign hasn’t yet determined Trump’s influence on that fundraising.
Here’s a look inside the numbers of each candidate.
Tom Rice
Rice, a 64-year-old tax attorney who’s represented the 7th congressional district since 2011, became a household name after his vote to impeach Trump. Both the Horry County and South Carolina Republican Party censured Rice for his vote.
Trump has called him a traitor, but Rice points out consistently in his messaging that he voted with the Trump administration more than 90% of the time.
Rice was able to raise $341,538 between Jan. 1 and March 31 from 392 donors, the FEC records show. He received $5,000 in maximum contributions each from former Grand Strand Water and Sewer chief Fred Richardson and Benjamin’s Calabash Seafood owner Wanda Howard.
Of Rice’s quarterly haul, $119,684, or 34%, of his donations came from South Carolina with Florence, Conway and Myrtle Beach serving as his largest bases of donors, an analysis of the FEC filings by The Sun News showed. Rice has pulled in more than three-quarters of his donations overall from South Carolina.
Rice’s out-of-state fundraising came from places including Washington, D.C., Virginia and New York between January and March.
Rice raised $158,000 from various PACs, including $5,000 from Prosperity Action, a Washington, D.C-based PAC affiliated with former U.S. House Speaker and Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan of Wisconsin.
Wisconsin U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, a Republican and outspoken Trump critic, has previously endorsed Rice.
Despite Trump targeting him, several local leaders still support Rice. Mayors Andrew Ingram, of Cheraw, and William McMillan, of Mullins, gave $250 and $500, respectively, to Rice’s campaign. Latta Superintendent George Lieberwood also chipped in $500.
Rice has also maintained the support of several Grand Strand business leaders and developers. Sylvia Wood, the manager of Alabama Theater, gave Rice $2,900; Dennis Wade, the CEO of The Jackson Companies — which owns Ocean Lakes Family Campground — gave $2,000; and James Apple, the CEO of developer Burroughs & Chapin, gave $2,900.
State Rep. Case Brittain and Thomas “Val” Guest, who’s running for the statehouse in District 106, also donated to Rice.
On the spending side, Rice funneled thousands to political consultant Walter Whetsell, who runs a Lexington-based firm called Starboard Communications. The firm received more than $68,000 from the campaign for expenses including market research, signage and a media buy.
Whetsell himself was paid $5,000 for individual consulting work over the first quarter.
Rice enters the coming quarter with nearly $2 million in the bank.
Russell Fry
The 37-year-old Surfside Beach attorney has been a fixture in the General Assembly since 2016, but announced in August 2021 his intention to primary Rice, which ultimately earned him Trump’s endorsement.
Fry pulled in $268,093 between January and March from 485 donors, and $619,000 overall.
His campaign manager, Philip Habib, said just how much of a factor the Trump imprimatur was in Fry’s quarterly haul is unknown. He carries a $448,093 war chest into the spring months.
“We are raising our money focused on South Carolina donors primarily from SC07, and we continue to raise more each quarter,” he said.
Fry raised 62% of his money in state and 38% out of state, from places including Georgia and North Carolina. Myrtle Beach, Florence, Murrells Inlet and Columbia emerged as Fry’s biggest donor bases, with residents of those cities giving Fry $46,000, $37,000, $18,000 and $15,000, respectively.
Fry’s statehouse connections also paid off, with seven current or former House members making contributions — including $500 from Majority Leader Gary Simrill and $1,000 from one-time House Judiciary Committee chairman and ex-U.S. Attorney Peter McCoy.
Fry’s campaign also pulled in significant money from local developers, including Brown Bethune, who owns Tidelands Commercial and is married to Myrtle Beach Mayor Brenda Bethune.
Mike Wooten, an engineer with DDC and a former South Carolina Department of Transportation Commission chairman, also gave to Fry, as did Litchfield Company head Will Davis. David Gantt and Felix Pitts of G3 Engineering also gave to Fry, as did developer Marvin Heyd.
Other notable donors to Fry include Dickie Smith, owner of the Dick’s Pawn chain, and Gerald Harmon, a Tidelands Health doctor who was recently named president of the American Medical Association.
The Madison Project, a Virginia-based group that boosts conservative candidates, gave fry $5,000 through its political action committee.
Fry’s first ad of the campaign cycle, which circulated March 8, painted Rice as a villain out of touch with constituents. Filings show the campaign paid $10,425 to Georgia-based Chastain Creative for “video production” costs, and also spent $24,350 with advertising firm Connell Donatelli.
Ken Richardson
Horry County school board Chairman Ken Richardson pulled in more than $613,000 between January and March, though $500,000 of that total was a personal contribution Richardson made himself. He previously gave his campaign $100,000.
Of the $113,223 Richardson raised from 118 donors, nearly all of it came from within South Carolina’s borders. Richardson only raised $1,500 from out of state, from Florida and North Carolina.
Richardson, who’s focused his campaign less on the Grand Strand and more on Western Horry County and the Pee Dee region, counts Conway as his strongest donor base, with residents there giving him $50,000 this quarter. Myrtle Beach was his second strongest donor base, with $21,000 coming from the city.
Like the other candidates, Richardson raised his money from a collection of area business leaders, local politicos and developers.
Lloyd and Judith Coppedge emerged as his top donors, giving $2,900 each. They own a restaurant in Horry County as well as the company Wolverine Brass.
Richardson also pulled in cash from Anthony Shawn Godwin, of the local paving company Southern Asphalt; Russell Graham, owner of Graham’s Golf Cars; the developer Benjy Hardee with A. O. Hardee & Son; and Warren Lee, owner of Sandhill Rentals. Walter Warren, a Thomas & Hutton developer, also gave to Richardson.
Former Myrtle Beach City Council member W. Wayne Gray and South Carolina Judge Larry Hyman chipped in, too.
Richardson enters the final two-and-a-half months of the primary race with $273,562 in the bank.
Rest of the field
Cheraw-based family doctor Garrett Barton has managed to raise significant money, though less than the leading candidates. FEC data shows he’s pulled in a total of $87,046, not including a $150,000 loan he gave his campaign.
Barton enters the next phase of the primary with nearly $72,000 in the bank.
Hartsville-based insurance agent and Christian speaker Barbara Arthur is in a similar position. She’s raised $43,578 to date, not including a $90,000 loan she gave her campaign.
She currently has about $106,000 in the bank.
And former Myrtle Beach Mayor Mark McBride has raised $50,498 total. He’s also spent nearly as much, and currently has $3,700 on hand.
This story was originally published April 15, 2022 at 12:00 AM.
