FLORENCE, South Carolina — South Carolina state Rep. Russell Fry has a double-digit lead on Rep. Tom Rice (R-SC) in one poll as the embattled incumbent campaigns to keep his congressional district, which spans from Grand Strand to Pee Dee, after voting to impeach then-President Donald Trump.
More than two-fifths (42%) of likely Republican primary voters would support Trump-endorsed Fry, a former South Carolina General Assembly majority chief whip, if the June 14 election were held today, according to a Trafalgar Group ballot test of the state’s 7th District published on Wednesday.
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A quarter backed Rice, a fifth-term lawmaker and former tax lawyer who voted to impeach Trump over the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, the poll found. Other candidates, Barbara Arthur and Ken Richardson, notched roughly 10% apiece. Another 7% were undecided.
The Trafalgar Group poll, based on 572 responses gathered from May 26-29, is similar to two recent internal Fry surveys. Research conducted by Fry last month found that 39% of respondents were for him, in comparison to 23% who remained loyal to Rice. Richardson earned less than 10% again, though many more (18%) were undecided. All the studies had a margin of error of 4 percentage points.
Rice downplayed the Trafalgar Group poll in Florence, South Carolina, on Wednesday, telling reporters with him on the trail that he is “comfortable” with its findings. “There’s only one poll that matters, and that’s in two weeks,” he said.
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Rice’s strategy for the anticipated runoff election between himself and Fry seems to be a simple one: “To reach out and remind people about what we’ve gotten done, what we’ve accomplished, and to ask people show up at the polls.”
