South Carolina Senate Rejects Congressional Redistricting Plan Amid Early Voting

The Republican-controlled South Carolina Senate voted Tuesday against advancing a new congressional map, halting the state’s redistricting effort for now. The vote took place as early in-person voting began for the June 9 primary elections and represented a setback for former President Donald Trump, who had urged lawmakers to approve the plan.

The proposed redistricting aimed to eliminate South Carolina’s single majority-Black district, represented by longtime Democratic Rep. James Clyburn, and to schedule new primaries in August for the affected districts. The South Carolina House had approved the map last week, but some Republican senators expressed concerns about the timing and logistics of changing district lines after voting had already started.

“Neither my conscience nor my common sense will allow me to stop an election that is already underway,” said Republican state Sen. Richard Cash, who changed his vote due to the timing. Another Republican senator, Tom Davis, criticized the rushed process, noting that the previous redistricting took nine months of consideration, while this effort moved forward in just a few weeks. “We have completely outsourced our constitutional obligation to prepare a congressional redistricting map to a consultant in Washington, D.C. We have no idea, no idea how that map was created,” Davis said.

Advisers close to the White House expressed surprise and frustration at the Senate’s rejection, with one calling it a “betrayal.” They said the White House was not informed of the vote change by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, as would have been expected. McMaster’s office did not immediately comment.

The redistricting push in South Carolina is part of a broader Republican effort, encouraged by Trump, to redraw voting districts ahead of the November midterm elections to strengthen the party’s narrow House majority. Republicans have enacted new maps in states including Florida, Tennessee, Missouri, North Carolina, and Ohio. However, some states have resisted or faced legal challenges. For example, a federal panel blocked Alabama from using a Republican-drawn map that would reduce the number of majority-Black districts, a decision the state plans to appeal.

In South Carolina, Rep. James Clyburn, whose district was targeted by the proposed map, was among the first to cast an early ballot in the small city of Orangeburg and vowed to run for reelection regardless of the district’s shape. “I’m OK if it’s Trump plus 20,” Clyburn said, referring to the potential Republican advantage in a redrawn district. He also noted he would be running where he lives, within the district. Clyburn criticized the current effort, contrasting it with the previous redistricting process after the 2020 census, which involved months of public meetings and was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. “This White House says, to hell with the process, to hell with the Constitution, just do what we want done,” Clyburn said.

The Congressional Black Caucus called on major corporations across the U.S. to oppose redistricting efforts by Republican-led states that seek to eliminate majority-Black U.S. House districts. The caucus also called for Black athletes to boycott public universities in states with such gerrymandering.

Election officials raised concerns about making last-minute changes and setting up additional primaries. Conway Belangia, executive director of the South Carolina Election Commission, told a state Senate committee that implementing the district lines for this year’s election would cost an additional $6 million.

South Carolina’s Republican Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey had previously expressed skepticism about the redistricting effort, emphasizing the value of competitive elections and vibrant parties. “Republicans are stronger when the Democrat Party is vibrant and viable,” Massey said.

All members of the South Carolina state Senate are up for reelection in the future. One longtime South Carolina Republican operative said, “These next two years are going to bring hell from the MAGA grassroots wing of the party already skeptical of many of these old guard GOP senators.”

The vote in South Carolina follows similar resistance in other states, including Indiana, where the Senate rejected a Trump-backed map last December despite White House pressure.

As redistricting battles continue nationwide, Democrats and voting rights advocates have voiced concerns about efforts they view as attempts to diminish minority representation and manipulate electoral outcomes.