Navy veteran hopes to be first Democrat this century to represent Grand Strand, Pee Dee in Congress

A Navy veteran who calls Myrtle Beach home is running to be the first Democrat in modern history to win South Carolina’s 7th Congressional District.

John Vincent, who retired in 2003 as command master chief petty officer — one of the Navy’s highest ranks for enlisted sailors — on Thursday launched his 2026 campaign to represent the state’s Grand Strand and much of the Pee Dee.

“Let’s shock the world. Let’s turn a seat blue,” the 64-year-old told the SC Daily Gazette in an interview ahead of his official announcement at a restaurant in Florence. “I know we’re going to win.”

Vincent is the first Democratic challenger to file paperwork with the Federal Election Commission for any of South Carolina’s 2026 U.S. House races. Three Democrats, as well as one Republican, have done so to oppose longtime U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham.

The 7th District, anchored in fast-growing Horry County, has been represented by GOP Rep. Russell Fry since 2022, when he ousted Republican Tom Rice, who angered Republicans in the ruby red district for voting to impeach President Donald Trump in 2021. Fry’s office did not immediately respond to email and phone messages from the Gazette.

“Congressman Fry is doing an awesome job and the party is proud of all he has been able to accomplish!” Abby Zilch, spokeswoman for the state Republican Party, said in response to Fry’s challenger.

Vincent said he recognizes he has an uphill battle in a district dominated by Republicans.

A Democrat last held the 7th District in the early 1930s, when it dissolved with the state’s loss of population at the time, and its location in the state was completely different. A Democrat last represented the Grand Strand in Congress when it was part of the 6th District, which has been represented by Jim Clyburn — the state’s lone Democrat in Congress — since his 1992 election to redrawn voting lines.

The closest a Democrat has gotten to winning the 7th District since South Carolina gained it back following the 2010 census was in 2012, the first election with the recrafted voting map. That year, Democrat Gloria Bromell Tinubu received 44% of the vote to Rice.

Fry won re-election in November with 65% of the vote, the most decisive win for the seat this century.

“Our turnout has not been strong. Apathy has been high,” Vincent said of Democrats.

“In order to win, about 15% of people who voted for my opponent are going to have to vote for me,” he added. “Not stay home, but vote for me.”

Vincent pointed out that the Pee Dee region struggles with poverty. Chesterfield, Marlboro, Dillon and Marion counties are among the state’s poorest, according to the most recent numbers from the state Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office.

Vincent said he can represent those voters as someone who understands the challenges of day-to-day life.

“I’ve never been rich, and I’ve been lucky to never be poor,” he said.

A native of Long Island, New York, Vincent says he’s lived in Myrtle Beach for two years. His roughly 17 years total in South Carolina include being stationed at the former Charleston Navy base from 1983 to 1992 and seven years in Florence, where he was a sales manager for WBTW-TV.

Vincent says on his campaign website that he’s struggled with alcoholism (he’s more than two decades sober) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD.

He hopes transparency and a desire to be represented by an “average Joe” will carry him past Fry, an attorney who spent eight years in the state House before voters elected him to the U.S. House.

Vincent, who spent 20 years in the military, called his ability to connect with people his “superpower.”

On the issues

An author, Vincent wrote a book with his wife about leadership through diversity and inclusion that draws on lessons from his time in the military. Released in December 2017, the book is titled, “Diversity and Inclusion The Submarine Way: What Life Underwater Taught Me About Inclusion.” 

Asked about abortion, Vincent said he supports a woman’s right to choose up to 14 weeks, with medical exceptions beyond that.

He’s in favor of a pathway to citizenship for immigrants without proper authorization — as long as they don’t have a criminal record. He says gender is each person’s own business.

And he supports a $15-an-hour federal minimum wage. South Carolina doesn’t have a state minimum wage, so the minimum is set by the federal standard, which has been $7.25 an hour since 2009.

Vincent said those views aren’t too liberal for South Carolina, where voters in November gave the Legislature their largest GOP majority since Reconstruction and no Democrat has won any statewide office since 2006.

He believes the reason Democrats have failed is because they haven’t focused on the economic issues that matter most to voters.

“That’s why the middle class is going ‘eh, I need a job here,’” he said. “It just seems like they don’t really understand what’s going on in our life.”

He then pointed to his campaign slogan: “Warrior-advocate for the middle class and most vulnerable.”

It’s not a cliche, he said.

He carries a concealed weapon and wants to invest in technology to make the border stronger, he told the Gazette. “Core pillars” of his campaign include protecting veterans, as well as federal programs such as Medicare and Medicaid that are intended to help the working class cover necessary costs.

While Vincent, who owns a leadership and organizational consulting firm, condemns the slashing of jobs touted by President Donald Trump and spearheaded by the Department of Government Efficiency, a balanced budget is another “core pillar” of his campaign, he says.

“You do it strategically,” Vincent said. You do it in a “way that’s responsible,” adding that his company helps other businesses operate efficiently.

He plans to hold town halls twice a month until the November 2026 election.

During his own town hall Wednesday, Fry said he will continue being one of Trump’s biggest allies in Congress, The Sun News reported.

“This district is a very conservative district, and that’s what they elected me to do. And he has not wasted any time in getting our country back on track,” the 40-year-old incumbent said.

Fry has $625,000 available in his campaign account, according to his latest Federal Election Commission filings.

Vincent officially filed his campaign paperwork March 13 and had $7,500 at the end of the month. He said his campaign is up to $30,000 as of Thursday. He estimates he’ll need only $300,000 to win, saying he knows he won’t be able to outspend Fry and doesn’t need to.

“You don’t need a million and a half (dollars),” he said. “If you’re willing to connect with people and you’re willing to tell the truth, even though they may not like it, that’s how you do it.”

Editor’s note: The headline and article have been updated to clarify that Democrats have previously represented the Grand Strand in Congress when it was part of the 6th Congressional District.