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by WILL FOLKS
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South Carolina congressman Russell Fry is pulling no punches against his delegation-mate Ralph Norman as the two jockey for position in the Palmetto State’s pitched battle for the U.S. Senate – digging decades back into his record to find fresh avenues of attack.
GOP voters will head to the polls next Tuesday (August 11, 2026) to decide who will inherit the Republican nomination for this seat from the late Lindsey Graham, who passed away suddenly last month. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes in that election, the top two vote-getters would advance to a head-to-head battle on August 25, 2026.
Polls show Fry, Norman and Graham’s sister – Darline Graham Nordone – as the early favorites in the race to replace Graham, with Fry’s supporters already doing their best to try and suppress Norman’s support ahead of the upcoming election.
Part of those efforts? A deep dive into Norman’s history on the issue of illegal immigration.
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A new advertisement entitled ‘Judge Him‘ – paid for by the pro-Fry Palmetto Leadership Fund – rebuked Norman by using words lifted from his initial campaign spot, in which the veteran congressman told viewers they should judge him on his record.
“I’m not asking you to trust what I say,” Norman said in his advertisement. “Judge me by what I’ve already done.”
After quoting Norman’s own ad, the pro-Fry spot cut to an October 6, 2006 headline from The Charlotte Observer which accused the wealthy Rock Hill, S.C. developer of failing to “require contractors to verify their workers (were) here legally.” According to the paper’s two-decade-old report, three contract employees working at job sites being developed by Norman at the time told the paper they were “in the country illegally.”
Take a look…
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When Norman first faced these allegations, he was campaigning for the Palmetto State’s fifth congressional district against incumbent Democrat John Spratt – a race he would lose in a landslide. Eleven years later, though, Norman would win this seat after narrowly prevailing in a special GOP primary election over S.C. House speaker pro tempore Tommy Pope.
Norman has represented the fifth district in Washington, D.C. since June 20, 2017, but is stepping down at the end of his current term. As for Fry, he is currently on the ballot for the U.S. Senate seat previously held by Graham and the seventh congressional district seat he’s held since January 2023.
The attack ad against Norman pivoted to pro-Fry messaging during its final few seconds, portraying the 41-year-old Surfside Beach, S.C. attorney as a “proven conservative with results.” It also leaned heavily on Fry being a supporter of U.S. president Donald Trump – despite the fact Trump preemptively endorsed Nordone in this election.
Fry, Norman and Nordone will appear on the debate stage tonight (August 3, 2026) in Columbia, S.C. – along with former S.C. governor Mark Sanford and Upstate businessman Mark Lynch.
Keep it tuned to FITSNews as we track the latest developments in this race…
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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