South Carolina’s redistricting effort fails in the state Senate with GOP opposition

The Republican-led South Carolina Senate on Tuesday voted against a measure to advance a new congressional map, ending the last-minute redistricting effort in the state for now.

The motion to end debate — which failed with a vote of 20-24 — was a surprise rejection of President Donald Trump, who had urged lawmakers to pass a redrawn map that eliminated the state’s single majority-Black district and gave Republicans a chance to win the seat.

The South Carolina House approved the map last week in hopes of putting it into place for this year’s midterm elections. As part of the effort, lawmakers also sought to set another primary election for the affected districts in August. But after early voting began on Tuesday for the previously scheduled June primary, some Republicans changed their mind on the matter.

“Neither my conscience nor my common sense will allow me to stop an election that is already underway,” said Republican state Sen. Richard Cash, a Republican who changed his vote due to timing.

Following the vote, another prominent Republican condemned the effort, arguing that it was wrong to approve a map with such little review.

“A process that properly done took our state senate nine months, 10 community hearings, eight subcommittee hearings, our own demographic analysis, our own work, and contrast that with what we’re doing now. 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. Now, in fairness, he did show up for a House subcommittee meeting via Zoom and spoke for seven minutes and 40 seconds. Then he had to leave another appointment. He said he was going to take no questions. Took no questions. Seven minutes and 40 seconds is our legislative record supporting this map. Seven minutes and 40 seconds.

Republicans signaled their resistance to redistricting earlier this month, refusing to take up a new map proposal as part of its regularly scheduled session. But amid pressure from the White House and national Republicans, Gov. Henry McMaster quickly called lawmakers back for a special session to tackle the issue.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey said earlier this month that trying to draw a new map would be short-sighted.

“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,” Massey said at the time. “Republicans are stronger when the Democrat Party is vibrant and viable.”