Russell Fry

Biography & Campaign Analysis

Background

Russell Fry, whose full name is Russell William Fry, was born on January 31, 1985, in Surfside Beach, South Carolina, to Matthew and Sunny Fry. He earned the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America in 2003 and graduated from Socastee High School in Myrtle Beach.

Fry self-funded his attendance at the University of South Carolina, graduating in 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts in political science and a minor in business administration, and he received his JD from Charleston School of Law in 2011. He works as an attorney at Coastal Law LLC.

Career

In May 2015, after State Representative Nelson Hardwick announced his resignation, Fry ran in the special election for the seat. He won a plurality in the July Republican primary, defeated Tyler Servant in the runoff and was unopposed in the general election, going on to represent the 106th District in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 2015 to 2022. In 2018 he was appointed Majority Chief Whip for the 122nd South Carolina General Assembly.

Fry challenged Republican incumbent Tom Rice in South Carolina's 7th congressional district in 2022, after Rice voted to impeach President Donald Trump following the 2021 United States Capitol attack.

In the June 14 Republican primary, Fry defeated Rice by 26.6 percentage points, and on November 8 he won the general election with 64.9% of the vote against Democratic nominee Daryl Scott.

He was elected president of the congressional freshman class during orientation week, and on January 16, 2023, it was announced that he would serve on the House Judiciary Committee. He is a member of the Congressional Western Caucus.

2026 race

Russell Fry is seeking re-election in the 7th district, which lies in northeastern South Carolina and takes in Myrtle Beach and Florence. He was re-elected with 64.9% of the vote in 2024 and is the Republican nominee for the seat in 2026. In the general election on November 3, 2026, Fry faces Democrat John Vincent, a retiree.