Russell Fry takes Trump-backed conservative brand to Congress as part of big night for GOP

Russell William Fry is headed to the U.S. House from South Carolina’s 7th Congressional District, bringing a Trump-backed brand of conservatism that’s helped elevate his national profile.

“The feeling is great right now. I think the red wave that’s going to sweep this country is going to start right here in Horry County and go all the way to California,” Fry, 37, told reporters shortly before his race was called. “We’re going to take back the House of Representatives very convincingly and be a check on a Biden administration gone off the rails.”

Fry, a Surfside Beach attorney, is leaving a General Assembly seat he’s held since 2015 to replace U.S. Rep. Tom Rice in the vast congressional district that covers all or parts of eight Pee Dee counties.

He coasted to an easy win over Conway Democrat Daryl Scott. He declared victory just before 9 p.m. at The Boathouse in Myrtle Beach, when unofficial results from the state Election Commission had him up 62 percent to 37 percent.

Fry’s victory capped a feverish 14-month campaign that saw him raise more than $1 million as he railed against Rice for voting to impeach Trump shortly after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

Seven months after Rice’s vote, Fry was in the race to oust him — joining a crowded ticket at the time that included more than a dozen contenders.

From the start, Fry made it clear what compelled him to trade Columbia for the Beltway.

“When you vote against President Trump, which a sizable majority of your district voted for, it’s time to come home,” Fry said to a crowd of nearly 100 people at downtown Myrtle Beach’s Grand Strand Brewing on Aug. 6, 2021.. “When you insist on doing your own thing in Washington, not listening to the voters that sent you to represent us, it’s time to come home, Tom.”

Fry achieved that goal in June, coasting past Rice after a bruising primary that cleared the way for his entry onto the national stage. But his political star had been on the rise since February, when Trump came out with his endorsement.

“He’s a solid conservative and he puts in the work. When president Trump was looking for people that he would consider endorsing, Russell’s name was right on top of the list,” S.C. GOP executive director Drew McKissick told The Sun News Nov. 8.

This story was originally published November 8, 2022 at 9:16 PM.