Tom Rice | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2013 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromSouth Carolina's7th district | |
| In office January 3, 2013 – January 3, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency reestablished |
| Succeeded by | Russell Fry |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Hugh Thompson Rice Jr. (1957-08-04)August 4, 1957 (age 68) |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | University of South Carolina (BS,MS,JD) |
Hugh Thompson Rice Jr. (born August 4, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as theU.S. representative forSouth Carolina's 7th congressional district from 2013 to 2023. The district serves most of the northeastern corner of the state and includesMyrtle Beach, theGrand Strand,Florence,Cheraw, andDarlington. ARepublican, Rice was first elected in 2012 and was a member of the freshman class chosen to sit at the House Republican leadership table. Rice was reelected in 2014, defeating Democratic nomineeGloria Bromell Tinubu in a rematch of the 2012 election.[1][2]
Rice was one of ten Republicans to vote to impeachDonald Trump in thesecond impeachment of Donald Trump.[3][4] In January 2021, theSouth Carolina Republican Partycensured him for voting for the impeachment.[5] In 2022, Trump endorsed a primary opponent for his seat.[6] Rice lost the Republican nomination in the June 14 primary toSouth Carolina state representativeRussell Fry, garnering less than 25% of the vote.[7][8] He is also the only member of Congress who voted against certifying the results of the2020 presidential election and in favor of Trump’s impeachment.
Rice was born inCharleston, South Carolina, on August 4, 1957. He was four years old when his parents divorced, and his mother, a teacher, took him and his brother Clay toMyrtle Beach. Rice's first job was a busboy when he was 12, and he was variously a night shift fry cook, a grocery store bag boy, andminiature golf course manager while still in high school. Rice was 16 when his father died.[citation needed]
Rice was offered a scholarship toDuke University but enrolled at theUniversity of South Carolina, where he earned a bachelor's degree (B.S.) and in 1979, a master's degree in accounting. In 1982, he earned aJ.D. degree from theUniversity of South Carolina School of Law.[citation needed]
After college, Rice worked at the accounting/consulting firm ofDeloitte & Touche inCharlotte, where he earned hisCPA certificate. In 1985 he returned to Myrtle Beach to practice tax law with the law firm Van Osdell, then established his own practice, Rice & MacDonald, in 1997.[9] He was elected chair of theHorry County Council in 2010, serving until he resigned from the position on December 31, 2012, in order to take his seat in Congress.[10]
Rice was elected to theU.S. House in 2012 as the first representative for the newly created 7th district. He defeated Jay Jordan, Randal Wallace, Dick Withington, James Mader, Chad Prosser, Katherine Jenerette, and Renee Culler in the June 12Republican primary to advance to a runoff. In the June 26 runoff he defeatedAndre Bauer. Rice defeatedGloria Bromell Tinubu in the November 6 general election.[2][11]
Rice was reelected in 2014, defeating Bromell Tinubu again, with 60.15% of the vote to her 39.85%.[1]
On June 14, 2022, Rice lost the Republican nomination toRussell Fry by a landslide.[7]
In December 2012, the House appointed Rice to theCommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure, theCommittee on the Budget and theCommittee on Small Business of the113th Congress.[12][13]
On January 8, 2013, CongressmanSam Graves appointed Rice chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax and Capital Access.[14]
On January 22, 2013, Rice was appointed to the following subcommittees:Highways and Transit,Water Resources and Environment, andCoast Guard and Maritime Transportation. He said the appointments would allow him to work for the funding and construction ofInterstate 73 as well as the dredging of the Georgetown Port.[15][16]
On November 11, 2013, Rice was appointed to the water resources conference committee, which helped resolve differences between the House and Senate versions of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2013. The version that passed the House would allow for the dredging of the Georgetown port, a $33 million project that would boost the local economy; Rice said, "I have made it my goal to do whatever it takes to champion South Carolina's ports."[17][18][19][20]
Rice has co-sponsored several pieces of legislation including Safe Schools Act of 2013, a bill to repeal theAffordable Care Act and health care-related provisions in theHealth Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 and others.[21]
Rice has pushed changes to port funding[22][23] and offered victims help to replace Social Security cards and other federal documents after a massive fire destroyed 26 condo buildings in theMyrtle Beach area.[24]
On December 18, 2019, Rice joined all House Republicans in voting againstimpeaching Trump on both articles.
On January 13, 2021, Rice was one of ten Republicans who voted to impeach Trumpa second time.[25] As late as two days before the impeachment debate, he opposed impeaching Trump.[26] But Rice toldThe Post and Courier that Trump's response to thestorming of the Capitol changed his mind. He criticized Trump for neither offering condolences to those who were injured nor expressing regret about the two police officers who died. In a press release, Rice also upbraided Trump for his lack of contrition. Ultimately, Rice said, Trump's "utter failure" in the matter forced him to vote for impeachment.[27][28] He did so later that day, alongside nine other Republicans.[4]
On January 30, 2021, the South Carolina Republican Party voted to formally censure Rice for his impeachment vote.[29]
On May 19, 2021, Rice was one of 35 Republicans who joined all Democrats in voting to approve legislation to establish theJanuary 6 commission meant to investigate thestorming of the U.S. Capitol.[30]
On February 1, 2022, Trump endorsed state representativeRussell Fry in the Republican congressional primary in retaliation for Rice's vote for impeachment. Trump said, "Congressman Tom Rice of South Carolina, the coward who abandoned his constituents by caving to Nancy Pelosi and the Radical Left, and who actually voted against me on Impeachment Hoax #2, must be thrown out of office."[31] In March, after a Trump rally in South Carolina where Fry had spoken, Rice responded, calling Trump "a would-be tyrant, because, like no one else I've ever met, he is consumed by spite."[6] "I took one vote he didn't like and now he's chosen to support a yes man candidate who has and will bow to anything he says."[6] "If you want a Congressman who supports political violence in Ukraine or in the United States Capitol...who supports a would-be tyrant over the Constitution...then Russell Fry is your candidate.”[6]
On June 5, 2022, Rice was interviewed on ABC and asserted that he had "no regrets" about his action. When the interviewer told him that, in his obituary, "the first sentence is going to be 'Tom Rice, who was a Republican member of Congress, voted to impeach Donald Trump'", Rice's reply was, "So be it," he said. "I'll wear it like a badge. So be it."[32]
Rice was interviewed by NBC News on June 13, 2022, and when asked about Trump's actions, he said, "He threw a temper tantrum that culminated with the sacking of the United States Capitol" and "It's a direct attack on the Constitution, and he should be held accountable".[8]
In June 2021, Rice was one of 49 House Republicans to vote to repeal theAuthorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002.[33][34]
Rice voted against the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020, which authorizes DHS to nearly double the available H-2B visas for the remainder of FY 2020.[35][36]
On July 19, 2022, Rice and 46 other Republican Representatives voted for theRespect for Marriage Act, which would codify the right tosame-sex marriage in federal law.[37]
| 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 McBride | 1,676 | 2.0 | |
| Republican | Spencer Morris | 444 | 0.5 | |
| Total votes | 85,212 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Tom Rice | 224,993 | 61.8 | |
| Democratic | Melissa Ward Watson | 138,863 | 38.1 | |
| Write-in | 235 | 0.1 | ||
| Total votes | 364,091 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Tom Rice | 142,681 | 59.6 | |
| Democratic | Robert Williams | 96,564 | 40.3 | |
| Write-in | 309 | 0.1 | ||
| Total votes | 239,554 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Tom Rice | 102,833 | 59.95 | |
| Democratic | Gloria Bromell Tinubu | 68,576 | 39.98 | |
| Independent | Write-in | 115 | 0.07% | |
| Total votes | 171,524 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Andre Bauer | 12,037 | 32.13 | |
| Republican | Renee Culler | 279 | 0.74 | |
| Republican | Katherine Jenerette | 1,457 | 3.89 | |
| Republican | Jay Jordan | 8,107 | 21.64 | |
| Republican | Jim Mader | 180 | 0.48 | |
| Republican | Chad Prosser | 3,824 | 10.21 | |
| Republican | Tom Rice | 10,252 | 27.36 | |
| Republican | Randal Wallace | 691 | 1.84 | |
| Republican | Dick Withington | 641 | 1.71 | |
| Total votes | 37,468 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Tom Rice | 16,844 | 56.11 | |
| Republican | Andre Bauer | 13,173 | 43.89 | |
| Total votes | 30,017 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Tom Rice | 153,068 | 55.51 | |
| Democratic | Gloria Bromell Tinubu | 114,594 | 41.56 | |
| Working Families | Gloria Bromell Tinubu | 7,795 | 2.83 | |
| Independent | Write-in | 281 | 0.10 | |
| Total votes | 275,738 | 100 | ||
Rice and his family live in Myrtle Beach. He married his wife Wrenzie in 1982 and they have three sons.[51] He is anEpiscopalian.[52]
In late May 2020, Rice announced that he refused to wear aface mask in response to theCOVID-19 pandemic in the United States while in Congress; in mid-June, he announced that he, his wife, and his son, had all been infected withCOVID-19.[53]
Congressman Rice's vote unfortunately played right into the Democrats' game, and the people in his district, and ultimately our State Executive Committee, wanted him to know they wholeheartedly disagree with his decision.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Constituency reestablished | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromSouth Carolina's 7th congressional district 2013–2023 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Representative | Order of precedence of the United States as Former U.S. Representative | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Representative |
