News13 Election Day preview: Russell Fry
HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — U.S. Rep. Russell Fry is asking 7th Congressional District voters for another term in Congress, two years after he knocked off incumbent Tom Rice and won the endorsement of former president Donald Trump.
The Surfside Beach Republican spent seven years in the General Assembly before heading to Washington, D.C.
Fry is facing off against Democrat Mal Hyman .
"We've been everywhere in the community, from Pawleys Island to Pageland," he told News13 in a sit-down interview on Oct. 28.
In Fry's nearly two years in office, he's served on the House Judiciary Committee, the Committee on Oversight and Accountability and the select Committee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.
He also was either sponsor or co-sponsor on bills related to child exploitation, human trafficking and the opioid epidemic — the latter of which stemmed from his involvement in drafting a suite of bills that moved through the legislature.
"We listen to sheriffs and teachers and medical professional, and I really got a handle and understanding of what the problem was and how to address it," Fry said.
Veterans outreach and securing healthcare for them is another priority. Fry pointed to his co-sponsorship of H.B. 3176 — the Veterans Health Care Freedom Act.
"Quite frankly, they (should) have a level of customer service that they've earned. They don't get that right now in a lot of ways. It's frustrating for me as a member of Congress, and I know it's frustrating for them," he said.
Fry has also criticized the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's regulation setting speed limits on certain sized vessels to protect the right whale population — a move he says will cripple the fishing industry.
That should be a decision made on a state-by-state basis, he said.
"The more that you can decentralize power out of D.C., the better it is. I'm a firm believer in the 10th Amendment. I think states figure this out on their own much better than the federal government ever has," he said.
News13 will have live coverage from Fry's watch party Tuesday night as results come in.
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Adrianna Lawrence is a multimedia journalist at News13. Adrianna is originally from Virginia Beach, Virginia, and joined the News13 team in June 2023 after graduating from Virginia Commonwealth University in May 2023. Keep up with Adrianna on Instagram, Facebook , and X, formerly Twitter . You can also read more of her work, here .
