The Republican-dominated South Carolina state House passed a new congressional map early Wednesday aimed at dismantling the state’s only Democratic seat, held by influential Rep. James Clyburn, at the insistence of President Donald Trump ahead of the midterms.
Even in the context of the national redistricting fight, the redrawn map would carry an outsize impact by eliminating the district represented by Clyburn, a power broker for the party and the first Black congressman to represent South Carolina in almost 100 years.
The map will now advance to the state Senate, where the Republican-led chamber will have less than a week to pass it before early voting for the state’s June 9 primary elections begins. If approved, it could hand the GOP a clean sweep across all seven of the state’s congressional districts in November.
It could be an uphill battle.
South Carolina conservatives had trepidations about heeding Trump’s call for a new map. Republican Gov. Henry McMaster initially declined to call for a special session to consider redistricting while Shane Massey, the Republican leader of the state Senate, drew national attention for bucking the president in a 45-minute speech about the perils of antidemocratic gerrymandering.
Eliminating the state’s only Democratic district is a “perfect example of just how much elected officials have lost their way,” Massey said in his May 12 speech announcing he would vote against any new map that did so.
Republican state senators also expressed concern that redrawing South Carolina’s already safely GOP districts would make Democrats more competitive in the long run by distributing progressive voters across the state. McMaster ultimately called for a special session after the state Senate, led by Massey, rejected a measure that would have extended its current session to consider a redraw, despite pressure from Trump.
The map passed in a 74-37 vote shortly after midnight, with four Republicans voting against the new districts. A majority of those who approved the map are up for re-election this year, putting them in a more vulnerable position than their Senate counterparts.
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Representatives fighting to defend their seats were likely more inclined to pass the new map after watching Indiana Republicans who defied the president’s redistricting demands lose to Trump-backed primary challengers.
The potential erasure of Clyburn’s district mirrors the elimination of minority districts across the country as part of the GOP-led redistricting race. Black lawmakers on Capitol Hill have accused Republicans of stifling the voices of Black voters and undermining civil rights protections.
Their concern only worsened after the Supreme Court clawed back key Voting Rights Act provisions, effectively opening the door for racial gerrymandering across the country.
“No matter how the lines are drawn, where they are, I’m going to run for re-election,” Clyburn told MS NOW just before the map passed.
“I don’t know how you decide that a state with 27% African Americans deserves zero African Americans in the representation,” Clyburn said. “But if that’s the way they think, we’ll have to just prove them wrong, which is exactly what I plan to do.”
Sydney Carruth is a breaking news reporter covering national politics and policy for MS NOW. You can send her tips from a non-work device on Signal at SydneyCarruth.46 or follow her work on X and Bluesky.