South Carolina Blocks Redistricting Plan in Primary Election
South Carolina Republicans blocked a measure to redraw the state's voting maps on Tuesday, leaving Jim Clyburn's district intact as the primary election moved forward. The vote came while some South Carolinians were already heading to the polls.
Richard Cash said he would not use the fight to stop balloting, telling colleagues, "Neither my conscience nor my common sense would allow me to stop an election that is already underway."
Jim Clyburn Seat
The decision keeps South Carolina's only Democrat in the US House of Representatives in place ahead of the November midterm elections, which are less than six months away. That leaves the state's current map unchanged after Republicans moved to block the redistricting effort rather than rewrite the lines in their favor.
Henry McMaster urged South Carolinians to "vote confidently in a safe and secure election" after the vote. The result preserves Clyburn's district at a time when map fights in other states are moving quickly and are tied to the broader struggle over House control.
Alabama Court Ruling
The South Carolina vote landed the same day a federal district court in Alabama temporarily blocked a congressional map adopted by the state's GOP-led legislature in 2023 for the November midterm elections. The three-judge panel said the plan violated the US Constitution's 14th Amendment and ordered Alabama to keep using its "race-blind map" that includes two majority-black districts.
That separate ruling gave Democrats another win as Republican-dominated southern states face competing court orders and legislative deadlines. Hakeem Jeffries called the Republican effort and Trump's role in redistricting a "desperate power grab" and said, "There will be a free and fair election in November."
Midterm Map Fight
The two decisions show how closely the map fights are now tied to the November midterm elections. In South Carolina, the blocked plan protects Clyburn's seat for now; in Alabama, the court's order preserves a map with two majority-black districts while the larger dispute continues to move through the courts and statehouses.
