GOP Rep. Tom Rice, Who Voted to Impeach Trump, Loses to Trump-Backed Challenger
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Rep. Tom Rice (R-SC), who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump last year, will lose his primary to a Trump-backed challenger.
State Rep. Russell Fry won the race in a relative blowout as one of six candidates who were vying to unseat Rice. Decision Desk HQ called the race at 10:37 ET.
Decision Desk HQ projects Russell Fry
(@RussellFrySC) is the winner of the Republican nomination for U.S. House District 7 in South Carolina, unseating incumbent Rep. Tom Rice.Race call: 10:36pm EDT
More results here: https://t.co/KJz0mg88oL
— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) June 15, 2022
Fry needed to cross the 50% threshold to avoid a runoff.
Rice was among only 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach the former president after the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
Trump said of Rice, “He lifted up his hand and that was the end of his political career — or we hope it was.”
Rice defended his vote on Tuesday morning during an interview with NBC News’ Vaughn Hillyard.
WATCH: Rep. Tom Rice (R-S.C.) defends his vote to impeach fmr. Pres. Trump, telling @VaughnHillyard that Trump “is the past.”@RepTomRice: “The Constitution is the source of our freedom and our prosperity. … I don’t want Donald Trump or anybody else to rip it to shreds.” pic.twitter.com/31ubDWNNSD
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) June 14, 2022
“You know, the truth will set you free, and I think that Donald Trump is not the future of the Republican Party,” Rice said. “I think, you know, he was a consequential president, and we accomplished things that lifted all people up while he was president.”
Rice added it is time for Republicans to “move on” from Trump.
The South Carolina Republican told a reporter Tuesday evening he had no regrets about voting to impeach Trump.
Russell Fry is now above 50% of the vote. Just spoke with Tom Rice. He says he’s surprised by the results. He is heading out as he has to be in Washington for a committee meeting tomorrow at 10 a.m. He says he doesn’t regret anything.
— Patrick Lloyd (@PatrickLloydTV) June 15, 2022
