GOP Rep. Tom Rice's wife says she 'just did not feel safe' in the district after he voted to impeach Trump after January 6

• GOP Rep. Tom Rice's wife said she "just did not feel safe" following her husband's vote to impeach Trump.
• Wrenzie Rice also told Politico that she urged her son not to walk alone to bars at night.

Wrenzie Rice said she didn't feel comfortable venturing into the community after her husband, Republican Rep. Tom Rice of South Carolina, voted to impeach President Donald Trump following January 6, 2021.

"I just did not feel safe," she told Politico in a recent interview, citing the violent assault on the Capitol.

"You don't know if they all of a sudden hate you and want to hurt you," she added, referring to Trump supporters in South Carolina's conservative 7th district.

Wrenzie Rice also said that she advised her son not to venture out alone to bars at night, and was initially afraid to even go to the grocery store.

That was due to a torrent of angry messages following Tom Rice's impeachment vote.

"I probably had, I'm not exaggerating, over 1,000 emails and texts," Rice told Politico. He even received a threatening voicemail on his personal cell phone, which said: "What kind of bird does not sing. You chose sides and now you pay the price."

Rice, unlike many of the other 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump following the attacks, had not been a frequent critic of the president prior to the riot, and surprised many of his colleagues with his vote.

"I was freaking out, trying to call him to be like, 'Hey!'" fellow South Carolina Republican Rep. William Timmons told Politico. "They informed us that it was not a mistake."

"He hadn't shown himself to be a tyrant before that," Rice told Politico, referring to January 6. "I don't think he was a tyrant before that. I do think he's a narcissist. He craves attention. He hates to lose."

Rice also told the outlet that he believes Trump is "purging" the Republican Party of any internal critics, seeking to turn the party into "a bunch of yes-men loyalists."

The incumbent Republican now faces a primary challenge from South Carolina state Rep. Russell Fry, who's been endorsed by Trump. A recent Trafalgar Group poll showed Fry leading Rice by more than 17 points in South Carolina's conservative 7th district.

Rice now faces voters in a primary election set to conclude on Tuesday evening.