Trump's Big Triumph Over The Master Impeacher Tom Rice
In South Carolina’s 7th Congressional District, State Rep. Russell Fry defeated Rep. Tom Rice (R-S.C.), one of President Donald Trump’s impeachers.
Rice was one of ten Republican House members who voted to impeach Trump for allegedly inciting the January 6, 2021 Capitol breach.
“The biggest News of the evening so far is that Russell Fry beat Impeach Master Tom Rice with a Vote of more than 51%, therefore winning outright with no need for a run-off.”
Following his victory, Fry told supporters, “Today, Donald Trump won.”
“Every single endorsed by Trump candidate won last night, by big margins, with the exception of one very long shot who did FAR better than anticipated against an incumbent,” says Trump.
Impeacher ousted
He wrote on his social media platform Truth Social on June 15 that, “The ‘Impeacher’ was ousted without even a runoff. A GREAT night!”
It’s the first time a Republican impeachment supporter has faced a challenger backed by Trump this year, and the results were emphatic, with Rice’s party support plummeting to just a quarter of the vote.
“Former President Donald Trump continued his drive to punish even partial opposition inside the GOP in Tuesday’s primaries, while the party also flipped a longtime Democratic House seat in a South Texas special election,” writes Politico.
Other Wins
Many candidates supported by Trump won primaries on Tuesday in Nevada, South Carolina, and North Dakota. Trump-endorsed Katie Arrington lost to incumbent Rep. Nancy Mace in South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District race (R-S.C.).
In a separate post, Trump said Arrington “was a long shot” at winning the race, but she “ran a great race and way over performed.” Trump added, “Congrats to Nancy Mace, who should easily be able to defeat her Democrat opponent!”
In South Carolina’s Republican gubernatorial primary, incumbent Gov. Henry McMaster received more than 83 percent of the vote.
William Timmons (R-SC) received nearly 53% of the vote.
In the November elections, he will represent South Carolina’s 4th Congressional District.
Alan Wilson, the incumbent South Carolina Attorney General, won the Republican primary and is almost certain to win the general election in November because no Democrats are running against him.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), Rep. Jose Wilson (R-SC), and Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC) were all unopposed (R-S.C.).
In Nevada, Trump-backed Senator Adam Laxalt received 56.1 percent of the vote.
In the November elections, he will face off against incumbent Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV).
In Nevada, Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo won with 38.4 percent of the vote over other candidates. He intends to unseat Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak.
The impeachment
Rice was one of ten Republicans who voted to impeach Trump for the second time on January 13, 2021.
He was still opposed to impeaching Trump two days before the impeachment debate. However, Rice told The Post and Courier that Trump’s reaction to the Capitol storming changed his mind.
He chastised Trump for not expressing condolences to those injured or regretting the deaths of the two police officers. Rice also chastised Trump for his lack of remorse in a press release.
Rice claimed that Trump’s “utter failure” in the matter compelled him to vote for impeachment. Later that day, he did so alongside nine other Republicans.
Rice was formally censured by the South Carolina Republican Party on January 30, 2021.