SC GOP Rep. Rice tells reporter he regrets voting against Biden’s election win
A South Carolina congressman who voted against certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory now says he regrets casting the vote.
U.S. Rep. Tom Rice, R-Myrtle Beach, told Politico he knew on the night of Jan. 6 that he should vote to certify the election result as Congress meet to formally hear the Electoral College outcome, but felt compelled to vote against because he had previously committed to oppose Biden’s election win.
While Rice told reporter Olivia Beavers that he believes there were “real issues with the election,” he says he should not have supported efforts to block Biden’s election after a mob of supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol as members of Congress were debating.
Rice holds Trump responsible for not intervening to stop the riot, and a week later voted with 10 other Republicans to impeach the president.
“In retrospect I should have voted to certify,” Rice told Politico. “Because President Trump was responsible for the attack on the Capitol.
“In the wee hours of that disgraceful night, while waiting for the Capitol of our great country to be secured, I knew I should vote to certify. But because I had made a public announcement of my intent to object, I did not want to go back on my word. So yeah, I regret my vote to object.”
Rice’s vote to impeach Trump, still popular in his Horry County-centered district, has led a crowded field of primary challengers to line up to try to unseat him in June’s GOP primary. Announced challengers include state Rep. Russell Fry, R-Horry; Ken Richardson, the chairman of the Horry County Board of Education; and conservative media personality Graham Allen.
Despite his impeachment vote, Rice is seeking a sixth term next year, touting a record of voting with Trump 94% of the time.
Still, Rice said he sympathized with then-Vice President Mike Pence, who resisted efforts to overturn the election in his role as presiding officer of the congressional meeting, and ultimately approved the certification of his own re-election defeat.
“There was a coward in that equation,” Rice said. “But it wasn’t Mike Pence.”
Rice’s latest comments were supported on Twitter by an unlikely source, U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-California — a frequent critic of Trump during the real estate mogul’s time as president.
“We are miles apart politically but Tom has shown integrity throughout his nearly 10 years of service,” Swalwell wrote. “Not surprised he regrets his January 6 vote. Integrity also means acknowledging when you were wrong.”
This story was originally published December 23, 2021 at 11:03 AM.
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