President Donald Trump has made a splash in the two hotly-contested Republican primaries for US congress. Trump issued endorsements for former State Representative Katie Arrington (R-Summerville) and Chief Majority Whip of the SC State House Russell Fry (R-Surfside Beach).

The 45th president has placed incumbent members Nancy Mace (R-Daniel Island) and Tom Rice (R-Myrtle Beach) — of the 1st and 7th district respectively — in his crosshairs.

Mace, who served as a top staffer in the state on Trump’s presidential campaign, placed the blame for the January 6, 2021, events on the president although she stopped short of joining 10 other House Republicans in voting to impeach. 

Rice, in his 5th term, was indeed one of the Republicans who voted to impeach. Rice has since doubled-down on his criticism while Mace has softened her approach realizing that her seat is in peril in the Republican Primary. The recently redrawn 1st District in the Lowcountry has a Republican lean while the 7th (Grand Strand/Pee Dee) is strongly Republican-favored. Republicans are expected to have a dominant election come November and accordingly, these two seats are expected to stay in Republican hands.

Russell Fry photo via WPDE

Rice’s 7th District has drawn a crowded Republican field and in addition to his impeachment vote, the incumbent has accumulated a liberal record for the GOP caucus in Washington, making him ripe for defeat. The race was rocked with the news that a top challenger, podcaster Graham Allen, dropped out of the race after having a conversation with Trump. Allen had been the top fundraiser of Rice’s challengers. This led to speculation that the president had made a decision on who he supported in the race. Fry, Horry County School Board Chairman Ken Richardson and Physician Garrett Barton seem to be the top challengers to Rice.

In Trump’s endorsement, he stated Fry is an America First Champion who has been a “leading fighter on Election Integrity, is pro-Life, pro-God pro-Gun and, very importantly, pro-LOW Taxes.”

Both Fry and Arrington accumulated records in the middle of the conservative/liberal scale of the GOP caucus during their time in the state house. South Carolina is rated as the most liberal Republican legislature in America.

It is clear that Trump, who has all but said he is running again in 2024, is intent on Mace and Rice losing their seats and is picking who he believes to have the best shot of beating the incumbents.

Katie Arrington photo via Federal News Network

Lesser-known candidates Ingrid Centurion and Lynz Piper-Loomis are the declared candidates in the GOP Primary against Mace, who has had trouble striking a balance between being a moderate on Capitol Hill and attempting to deliver red meat talking points her conservative voters support. Former GOP Lt. Governor André Bauer has been approached and has considered a run for the 1st District seat but appears to be unlikely to take the plunge.

In his endorsement of Arrington, who worked in the Pentagon during the Trump administration, he said “Katie Arrington is running against an absolutely terrible candidate, Congresswoman Nancy Mace, whose remarks and attitude have been devastating for her community, and not at all representative of the Republican Party to which she has been very disloyal. Katie Arrington, on the other hand, is liked and respected and a true Republican.”

In juxtaposition to the Trump endorsement, former Governor and United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley has endorsed Mace, who is known to have been a political enemy of Haley previously.

Arrington is well-known for defeating sitting Congressman (and former Governor) Mark Sanford in the Republican Primary for the 1st District in 2018 only to lose a nailbiter to Joe Cunningham (D-Charleston), who was defeated two years later by Mace. Trump provided a last-minute boost for Arrington and against the anti-Trump Sanford. Cunningham is the current frontrunner in the Democrat Primary for governor.

The State newspaper has reported that sources indicate that President Trump will hold a rally supporting Arrington and Fry in the near future.

The latest endorsements in the state come among many around the country as the president is making an impact around the country picking his preferences for this year’s elections. Just prior to these endorsements, President Trump’s political committees announced having raised over $51 million in the final fundraising period of 2021 with over $122 million on hand. The president will be spending largely on his preferred candidates throughout this election year.

The South Carolina partisan primaries take place on June 13th but have the possibility of being delayed over lawsuits of redistricting.

Preston Baines is a political analyst and can be reached at @prestonbaines on Twitter/GETTR and prestonbaines@gmail.com.

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