An effort by South Carolina Republicans to redraw the state’s congressional map—designed to likely add a Republican-held U.S. House seat—failed in the State Senate on Tuesday.
The vote fell short of the two-thirds majority required for passage, with 29 Republicans opposing and 17 supporting legislation to extend the legislative session to finalize redistricting. The rejection comes as lawmakers face an impending deadline to complete the multistep process before the state’s session ends Thursday afternoon.
Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey described the push to redraw maps as short-sighted, stating: “I believe that our state is stronger with vibrant parties. We are stronger when we have a clash of ideas and we can discuss those policy goals.”
South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette condemned the Senate’s decision as a “betrayal of the people” and “direct defiance of President Trump’s clear call,” emphasizing maps that end “Democrat racial gerrymandering” and strengthen conservative representation. Senate Minority Leader Brad Hutto warned that using an existing map would unfairly impact voters and congressional candidates who might be reconfigured into different districts.
Sen. Chip Campsen, R-Isle of Palms, noted the timeline for completing redistricting was unrealistic: “It’s almost impossible to pull this off without a tremendous amount of error.” The effort began with a House GOP Caucus meeting last week and included legislation to delay congressional primaries until August—but the Senate’s rejection has stalled progress.
South Carolina’s congressional delegation currently consists of six Republicans and one Democrat, with Rep. James Clyburn as the lone Democratic representative in the U.S. House of Representatives.