South Carolina Republicans have declined to redraw their congressional districts ahead of the November elections, blocking a redistricting measure that would have eliminated the state’s only Democrat-held seat.
Before the state Senate voted to adjourn until June 10, a handful of Republicans sided with Democrats to kill the redrawn map recently passed by the House.
The GOP-led state Senate also rejected a plan to schedule a new primary with the revised map that could have ousted longtime Democratic Rep. James Clyburn, essentially making Tuesday’s early in-person voting in the state moot. Because early voting already began for the previously scheduled June primary, some Republicans determined that it was too late to reschedule.
While Mr. Clyburn’s seat is relatively safe this year, his district — the state’s only majority-Black district — could be redrawn before 2028.
President Trump had urged lawmakers to pass a redrawn map to evict Mr. Clyburn from his district, prompting Republican Gov. Henry McMaster to call a special session to redraw. State Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, however, has long opposed redrawing.
“I believe that our state is stronger with vibrant parties. I think we, as a whole, are stronger when we have a clash of ideas. I think that’s true at the national level. I think it’s true at the state level. We are stronger when we have a clash of ideas and we can discuss those policy goals,” Mr. Massey said at the time. “Republicans are stronger when the Democrat Party is vibrant and viable.”
South Carolina was one of several states pursuing a mid-decade redistricting, as Republicans look to gain an advantage to keep the House majority and Democrats respond in kind in trying to take over the House.
Several Republican-led Southern states moved quickly to take advantage of the Supreme Court’s decision last month that struck down a majority-Black district in Louisiana and weakened minority protections under the federal Voting Rights Act. Alabama, Florida, Mississippi and Tennessee either approved redrawn maps or are in the process.
Hours before the South Carolina vote, federal judges blocked Alabama Republicans’ redistricting plan. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said that the state would appeal the decision to the nation’s highest court.
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