“America’s Heart and Soul”
South Carolinians demanding that Mr. Rice oppose the election results had blocked the phones of his congressional office for weeks, and a day before the Jan. 6 vote, he himself answered a call.
“She just enlightened me for 30 minutes on how there were truckloads of mail-in ballots, unsigned, that were accepted — all those allegations you read in QAnon,” Rice said. in an interview. “It was very, very high intensity at that time.”
A former Myrtle Beach tax lawyer and accountant, Mr. Rice, 65, was elected to local office with the Tea Party wave in 2010 and to Congress two years later. To a Trump campaign event, he called the 2020 election “a battle for the heart and soul of America,” predicted that Democrats won’t “play fair,” and urged Republicans to get every vote. He carried the district by 24 points, surpassing even Mr. Trump’s margin.
Mr. Rice is a typical objector in many ways. They are disproportionately white, male and Christian, whether compared to the general public or to Congress as a whole. Of the 139 House lawmakers, 17 are women, seven black or Latino and two Jewish. (Three have died since voting and one has resigned from Congress.)
Because of partisan gerrymandering and decades-long sorting of Americans into like-minded communities — North or South, urban or rural — all but a half-dozen opponents represent districts so staunchly Republican that a main challenge is the only meaningful electoral contest they can face, even though more than a third come from blue or battleground states.
Like other members of Congress, many pursued professional careers before moving to Capitol Hill – as accountants, lawyers, doctors, dentists. Three dozen have military experience and more than half have an advanced degree, three with a doctorate (in animal nutrition, British history and public policy). About 18 — Ms. Boebert and Mr. Mullin among them — never earned a traditional four-year degree, according to their congressional biography.
Following the pattern of the larger Republican caucus, about half were elected for the first time on the heels of Mr. Trump. About a third had not held a previous elected office. Although some, like Mr. Rice, reside in cities, they often live in more rural areas.