South Carolina Senate rejects GOP's plan to redraw districts during primary voting

As early in-person voting opened on Tuesday (May 26) in South Carolina’s primaries, the state Senate voted down a Republican proposal to cancel the ongoing congressional primaries and replace them with a new election under redrawn districts aimed at helping the GOP defeat longtime Democratic Congressman Jim Clyburn.

Several Republican senators argued that changing the election after voting had already started would undermine public trust and create confusion among voters.

“South Carolina citizens are going to the polls today. And neither my conscience nor common sense is going to let me stop an election that is already underway,” Republican state Sen. Richard Cash said. The controversy is part of a broader Republican strategy, strongly supported by President Donald Trump, to redraw congressional maps in an effort to strengthen the GOP’s position and protect its narrow majority in the US House ahead of the midterm elections. Republicans have accelerated redistricting efforts following a recent US Supreme Court ruling that weakened minority voting protections under the federal Voting Rights Act.

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Voter turnout surged on the first day of early voting, with more than 26,000 ballots cast by noon Tuesday for the June 9 primary. Democrats had encouraged voters to participate in opposition to the proposed district changes. By comparison, roughly 125,000 early votes were cast during the entire two-week early voting period in 2022.

Among the early voters was Congressman Jim Clyburn, who cast his ballot in Orangeburg. Republicans had hoped to redraw his district to increase GOP chances of winning all seven congressional seats in South Carolina. Despite the proposed changes, Clyburn said he still plans to seek reelection.

“I’m OK if it’s Trump plus 20,” Clyburn said while describing the potential Republican advantage in a reshaped district. “I would be running where I live.” The Republican-controlled House had already approved a proposal that would redraw Clyburn’s district, invalidate the current congressional primary results, and schedule new US House primaries in August.

Trump personally pushed for the plan, reportedly making multiple phone calls to Republican Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey and even addressing Republican senators during a private meeting earlier this month. He also continued advocating for the proposal on social media. However, the effort stalled in the Senate as Democrats strongly opposed the plan, while some Republican lawmakers worried that aggressive redistricting could unintentionally weaken certain GOP-held districts by adding more Democratic voters.