Republican South Carolina Rep. Jackie Terribile examines a proposed draft of fresh U.S. House districts for South Carolina, May 7, 2026, in Columbia, S.C.Jeffrey Collins/AP Photo
The South Carolina Senate on Tuesday essentially rejected a proposed congressional map that might have enabled Republicans to capture the seat of Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn, a significant setback to a mid-decade redistricting push promoted by President Donald Trump.
The Republican-led state Senate voted Tuesday afternoon to suspend their special legislative session until June 10, following the state’s June 9 primaries, without reaching a final decision on the map.
The adjournment signifies that potential redistricting in the state prior to the 2026 midterms seems virtually impossible.
Early balloting in the primaries commenced Tuesday, which detractors of the map contended indicated it was too late to redistrict without encountering considerable legal difficulties.
Republican South Carolina Rep. Jackie Terribile looks at a proposed map of new U.S. House districts for South Carolina, May 7, 2026, in Columbia, S.C.Jeffrey Collins/AP Photo
Legislators adjourned after a procedural vote to constrain discussion on the map failed, and after numerous Republican state senators voiced opposition to the map on the Senate floor, with some referencing the start of early voting as the rationale for it being too late to redistrict.
“The window has closed, balloting has commenced. It is time to conclude this issue,” Republican state Sen. Richard Cash declared on the Senate floor on Tuesday. “Now I understand there will be significant displeasure and dissatisfaction that we were unable to complete the task. I understand. Many of us also feel frustrated and let down by what is a highly unsatisfactory conclusion, but we must confront it. The timeframe for achieving this has expired, and the timeframe for in-person balloting began at 8:30 this morning.”
A subsequent declaration credited to the South Carolina Senate Republican Caucus placed responsibility on South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, a Republican, for scheduling a special session excessively near the primaries and cited the potential for ballots cast today to be invalidated as the justification for the legislature’s adjournment.
The suggested congressional map could've assisted the Republican Party in seizing the state's 6th congressional district, occupied by Clyburn, the longstanding Black representative who is the state’s sole Democrat in Congress.
Rep. Jim Clyburn stands with members of the Congressional Black Caucus during an event outside the Capitol in Washington, May 19, 2026.J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo
Clyburn condemned the redistricting endeavor in a press gathering earlier Tuesday.
“As I speak, our state senate is deliberating whether to reconstruct this congressional district to fulfill directives from the White House to convey to the 29% of African Americans in South Carolina, the 43% of Democratic voters in South Carolina, irrespective of your presence, you do not merit a solitary member of Congress among the seven we possess,” Clyburn stated.
“That poses a challenge to the inherent goodness of South Carolinians, and nothing has provoked me more than witnessing this sort of imposition on the citizens of South Carolina,” Clyburn expressed.
Sourse: abcnews.go.com