Gov. Henry McMaster has called a special session starting Friday to redraw South Carolina’s congressional districts, in a race to shape seats ahead of midterms.
South Carolina’s congressional map is headed back to the drawing board after Gov. Henry McMaster called a special session for state lawmakers to tackle redistricting ahead of the midterm elections.
McMaster said on X Thursday evening that he had issued an executive order bringing the General Assembly back “for an extra legislative session to address the state budget and congressional districts.” He added the special session would begin Friday morning.
At the center of the debate is the expectation that a new map will eliminate the state’s only majority-minority district, which is currently held by Rep. James Clyburn, a major Democratic power broker.
McMaster initially chose not to order a special session. That stance shifted after the Republican-led state Senate rejected a measure earlier this week that would have extended its current session to take up a redrawn map, despite pressure from President Donald Trump.
South Carolina is among a growing number of Southern states racing to redraw district lines to produce more Republican-leaning seats after the U.S. Supreme Court last month significantly narrowed protections under the Voting Rights Act related to racial gerrymandering.
The pressure is not limited to South Carolina.. Tennessee has already enacted a new map that reshapes the state’s lone majority-Black district, represented by Rep.. Steve Cohen.. The Supreme Court also cleared the way for Alabama to implement a map with one fewer majority-minority district than it currently has.. And Thursday, the Louisiana Senate passed a map aimed at one of the state’s two Democratic-held seats.
Trump has also added political urgency to the redistricting push.. On Truth Social on Monday, he urged South Carolina Republicans to join what he framed as a mid-decade redistricting fight.. “I’m watching closely. along with all Republicans across the Country. ” Trump wrote. praising Tennessee’s action and telling South Carolina Republicans to “BE BOLD AND COURAGEOUS” and to “GET IT DONE!”
Still, not all South Carolina Republicans have been eager to move quickly. This week, five Republican senators blocked their party from reaching the two-thirds support needed to consider new district lines during the active session. The group included Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey.
Massey. speaking on the Senate floor. argued that extending redistricting debates into a special effort could weaken party competition rather than strengthen it.. “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,” he said.. “Republicans are stronger when the Democrat Party is vibrant and viable.”
For the special session, the threshold for passing a new map will be lower than what was required in the current session. A simple majority will be needed in both chambers to adopt new district lines.
South Carolina redistricting Henry McMaster congressional map James Clyburn Shane Massey Donald Trump midterm elections