Columbia, South Carolina — South Carolina House Republicans set aside Democratic objections and backed a congressional redistricting plan just after midnight Tuesday, moving to give the GOP a chance to win an additional seat in November’s midterm elections.
The redistricting plan, urged by President Donald Trump, would reshape the state’s only Democratic-controlled U.S. House district in favor of Republicans as part of the redistricting plan. A broader national effort To retain the party’s slim majority in the House of Representatives in the fall.
Four Republicans voted against the bill after a 14-hour session that included reading the bill and all the census data that makes up the maps for more than three hours.
The bill now heads to a more skeptical state Senate, where some Republicans have questioned whether redistricting could backfire — making districts competitive enough for Democrats to pick up seats rather than securing all seven seats for the GOP.
Trump had urged South Carolina to redraw congressional districts before November amid a rapidly closing window to complete the work. Early primary voting begins May 26. If the proposal eventually becomes law, South Carolina would postpone its U.S. House primary until later in the summer and spend at least $3 million on other statewide elections — and likely face lawsuits over a new map.
“To President Trump,” said Republican Rep. Luke Rankin, who sponsored the bill. “I have your back and South Carolina Republicans have your back.”
democratic US Representative Jim ClyburnHis seat was targeted, he said he would continue to run for an 18th term even if his district changed.
During Tuesday’s debate, Democrats praised Clyburn’s work on behalf of the state and repeatedly objected to plans to reshape his district. Republicans repeatedly rejected their amendments.
“What you’re all doing is wrong,” Democratic state Rep. J. A. Moore said, adding: “You can justify it, you can rationalize it, but it is wrong.”
Republican state Rep. Melissa Ormus accused Democrats of “fear mongering” for raising concerns about the potential impact on black voters, stressing: “People are not prevented from voting because of the color of their skin.”
To buy time to implement any new map, South Carolina legislation would remove U.S. House races from June primaries and instead set special primaries in August to select candidates. Some absentee and overseas military votes already cast for Congress will be voided.
Other Southern states have taken a similar approach as they rush to redraw US House districts in the wake of the recent election. US Supreme Court decision That struck a majority-black district in Louisiana as an illegal racial gerrymander and significantly weakened Voting Rights Act protections for minority areas.
The congressional primaries in Louisiana, which were scheduled to take place last Saturday, took place delayed Until later this summer by Republican Gov. Jeff Landry to allow time to draw new districts.
Primary election votes were cast on Tuesday In Alabama. But the state plans to overturn the results in four of the seven U.S. House districts and instead hold special primaries on Aug. 11 for those districts under different boundaries. the Revised areas It could help Republicans win an additional seat in November.
All told, Republicans believe they can win up to 15 more seats from the reshuffled U.S. House districts in seven states so far, while Democrats believe they may pick up as many as six seats from new House districts in two states. However, this number could change as litigation continues in several states. Voters will ultimately decide whether these predictions hold up.
The repercussions could extend beyond government and politics.
The NAACP on Tuesday called on Black athletes and fans to Boycott sports programs of public universities in states that “have moved to limit, weaken, or erase the representation of the black vote.” The campaign is specifically targeting Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas — although new voting districts have not yet been enacted in all of those places.
Democratic state Rep. John King echoed the House boycott call, urging black athletes to instead attend one of South Carolina’s historically black colleges.
“You can’t manipulate black political power on Monday and then expect black athletes to sell out your stadiums on Saturday,” King said.
After Democrats debated the proposed changes for hours on Monday, the Republican-controlled chamber changed the rules for Tuesday by limiting members to just one amendment and setting time limits on speeches.
Republicans quickly rejected the Democratic amendments. They asked almost no questions before voting to reject proposals to educate voters about changing the date of the primary, having the state pay all local costs for holding rescheduled congressional primaries, postponing the general election by two weeks, and nearly three dozen other proposals.
During the 10 minutes allotted for his speech, Democratic state Rep. Jermaine Johnson spoke about his grandfather, a black Army soldier who was willing to die for his country but returned to a community where he was shamed and abused because of the color of his skin.
“We’ve moved past a lot of the horrors that my grandfather faced,” said Johnson, who is running for open governor’s office. “But I think in 2026 we’ve shown new ways to frustrate people.”
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Lieb reported from Jefferson City, Missouri.