Russell Fry
American politician (born 1985)
Russell William Fry (born January 31, 1985) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the U.S. representative for South Carolina's 7th congressional district since 2023. Previously, he represented the 106th District in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 2015 to 2023. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Fry was first elected to Congress in 2022 after defeating incumbent Tom Rice in the Republican primary. He was a candidate in the U.S. Senate special primary to replace Lindsey Graham, following his death. He placed third in the primary.
01Early life and education
Fry was born on January 31, 1985 in Surfside Beach, South Carolina to Matthew and Sunny Fry. When growing up his family lived paycheck to paycheck in a typical home with no central Heating or Air conditioning. He has said that this taught him the value of hard work. When the September 11 attacks attack happened, Fry was a teenager and he has said that this event had influences his Patriotism and wanting to get into Public service.
He was an active member of the Boy scouts of America and he had earned the rank of Eagle Scout in the year of 2003.
Fry attended and graduated from Socastee High School in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Fry then attended the University of South Carolina and he worked to self fund his education and he graduated in 2007 with a degree in Bachelor of Arts in Political science and a minor in Business administration.
02South Carolina House of Representatives (2015-2022)
In May 2015, State Representative Nelson Hardwick announced his resignation after House leadership investigated sexual harassment allegations against him. Fry ran in the special election for Hardwick's seat. He won a plurality of the vote in the Republican primary in July and advanced to a runoff against Tyler Servant. Fry won the runoff, and was unopposed in the general election. In 2018, he was appointed to the position of Majority Chief Whip for the 122nd South Carolina General Assembly.
03U.S. House of Representatives (2023-present)
Elections
2022
In the aftermath of the 2021 United States Capitol attack, Tom Rice, who was serving as the U.S. representative for South Carolina's 7th congressional district, unexpectedly voted in favor of impeaching President Donald Trump. Fry criticized Rice for his vote, and said he was considering running against him in 2022. In August 2021, Fry announced that he would challenge Rice in the 2022 election, emphasizing his opposition to Trump's impeachment. On February 1, 2022, Trump endorsed Fry. In the June 14 Republican primary, Fry defeated Rice by 26.6 percentage points. On November 8, Fry was elected to Congress with 64.9% of the vote, defeating Democratic nominee Daryl Scott.
2024
2026
Tenure
Fry was elected to serve as the president of the congressional freshman class during orientation week. On January 16, 2023, it was announced that Fry would serve on the House Judiciary Committee.
Caucus memberships
04Political positions
Syria
In 2023, Fry was among 47 Republicans to vote in favor of H.Con.Res. 21, which directed President Joe Biden to remove U.S. troops from Syria within 180 days.
Somalia
In 2023, Fry was among 52 Republicans who voted in favor H.Con.Res. 30, which would remove American troops from Somalia.
Antisemitism
Fry was among the 187 Republicans who voted in favor of H.R. 6090: The Antisemitism Awareness Act. The act would require the use of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism "when reviewing or investigating complaints of discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance." The American Civil Liberties Union, along with other organizations, warned against the adoption of this definition as it could limit free speech surrounding criticism of Israel on college campuses.
Israel
Fry voted to provide Israel with support following the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.
05Electoral history
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Russell Fry (incumbent) | 13,198 | 68.38 | |
| TOTAL | Robin Gause | 6,088 | 31.54 | |
| Democratic | Robin Gause | 5,779 | 29.94 | |
| Working Families | Robin Gause | 182 | 0.94 | |
| American | Robin Gause | 127 | 0.66 | |
| Write-in | 14 | 0.07 | ||
| Total votes | 19,300 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Russell Fry (incumbent) | 13,198 | 68.38 | |
| TOTAL | Robin Gause | 6,088 | 31.54 | |
| Democratic | Robin Gause | 5,779 | 29.94 | |
| Working Families | Robin Gause | 182 | 0.94 | |
| American | Robin Gause | 127 | 0.66 | |
| Write-in | 14 | 0.07 | ||
| Total votes | 19,300 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Russell Fry (incumbent) | 24,092 | 98.46 | |
| Write-in | 376 | 1.54 | ||
| Total votes | 24,468 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Russell Fry | 43,509 | 51.1 | |
| Republican | Tom Rice (incumbent) | 20,927 | 24.6 | |
| Republican | Barbara Arthur | 10,481 | 12.3 | |
| Republican | Ken Richardson | 6,021 | 7.1 | |
| Republican | Garrett Barton | 2,154 | 2.5 | |
| Republican | Mark Struthers McBride | 1,676 | 2.0 | |
| Republican | Spencer Morris | 444 | 0.5 | |
| Total votes | 85,212 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Russell Fry | 164,440 | 64.77% | |
| Democratic | Daryl W. Scott | 89,030 | 35.07% | |
| Write-in | 395 | 0.16% | ||
| Total votes | 253,865 | 100.00% | ||
| Majority | 75,410 | 29.70% | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Russell Fry (incumbent) | 240,326 | 64.9 | |
| Democratic | Mal Hyman | 129,522 | 35.0 | |
| Write-in | 481 | 0.1 | ||
| Total votes | 370,329 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Darline Graham (incumbent) | 109,881 | 32.8 | |
| Republican | Ralph Norman | 82,627 | 24.6 | |
| Republican | Russell Fry | 65,955 | 19.7 | |
| Republican | Mark Sanford | 50,136 | 14.9 | |
| Republican | Mark Lynch | 19,892 | 5.9 | |
| Republican | Danny Ford II | 2,804 | 0.8 | |
| Republican | Duke Buckner | 1,583 | 0.5 | |
| Republican | Glenda Gail Parker | 977 | 0.3 | |
| Republican | Samuel Shepherd | 931 | 0.3 | |
| Republican | Mark McBride | 769 | 0.2 | |
| Total votes | 335,555 | 100.0 | ||
06Personal life
Fry is a Baptist. He is married and has one son.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Russell Fry”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Russell Fry 119th Congress.jpg by House Creative Services, Public domain
- Rep Russell Fry Official Portrait.jpg by US House Office of Photography, Public domain
- 2022 Republican primary in South Carolina's 7th congressional district map by precinct.svg by MisterWat3rm3l0n, CC BY 4.0
- 2026 United States Senate Republican special primary election in South Carolina results map by county.svg by 02rufus02, CC BY 4.0
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