Republicans Fry, Servant facing off in runoff for S.C. House 106 seat

Freshman politician Tyler Servant and former Republican Party official Russell Fry will square off Aug. 11 in a runoff for the S.C. House District 106 seat, according to unofficial results from Tuesday’s GOP Primary.

Fry and Servant finished first and second respectively in the four-candidate field, with Fry receiving 45 percent of the votes cast and Servant claiming 33 percent. Roy Sprinkle finished third with 15 percent and Sanford Graves took 7 percent.

Because there is no Democratic opposition, the winner of next month’s runoff will most likely take the seat, which was vacated by Nelson Hardwick in May after an investigation by the House Speaker’s office uncovered an accusation of sexual harassment by a female House staff member. The married father of three had held the post for 10 years.

The district includes a swath of the South Strand, including Surfside Beach and Garden City Beach.

“I am extremely humbled,” said Fry, a 30-year-old attorney and former executive committeeman for the Horry County Republican Party. “This was a strong victory and it could not have happened but for a lot of effort by a lot of different people.”

Fry plans to spend the next two weeks campaigning on his platform of improving South Strand infrastructure, adding school choice reforms and reducing regulations on small businesses.

“We’re going to be doing the same thing we’ve been doing,” he said.

Servant is a 24-year-old real estate broker serving his first term on Horry County Council. He could not be reached for comment late Tuesday.

The primary’s results are scheduled to be certified at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Horry County Voter Registration and Elections Office. Following next month’s runoff, a general election is scheduled for Sept. 15.

This story was originally published July 28, 2015 at 8:40 PM with the headline "Republicans Fry, Servant facing off in runoff for S.C. House 106 seat."