South Carolina House debates redistricting for U.S. House seat gains

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South Carolina lawmakers on Monday began their first full airing of a plan to redraw the state’s U.S. House districts, teeing up what could become a lengthy debate as Republicans assess how aggressively to pursue seat gains for the 2026 midterm elections. The discussion started in the state House in Columbia during a special session called for redistricting, and it quickly surfaced disagreements about whether Republicans should aim for a map that would yield a clean sweep.

The backdrop is a shift in how redistricting fights are unfolding across the country after the U.S. Supreme Court decision that weakened Voting Rights Act protections for minority districts. The AP reported that tense debates over new district lines have already played out in Tennessee, Alabama, and Louisiana as Republicans sought to leverage that change, including in cases involving districts with large Black populations.

In South Carolina, the debate included concerns among some Republicans about a proposal that targets a seat long held by U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, the only Democrat among the state’s seven members of the U.S. House. State Rep. Nathan Ballentine said South Carolina has probably benefited from federal projects and funding because Clyburn has been in office, and he said he surveyed constituents to ask whether they support redistricting—finding that more than half of “reliable Republicans” were against it. Ballentine also said, “My mama raised me just because you can doesn’t mean you should.”

Clyburn has said he does not plan to retire even if his district’s lines change, according to the AP report.

The debate also unfolded amid ongoing nationwide court activity linked to the Supreme Court’s redistricting ruling. The AP reported that the Supreme Court vacated lower court decisions on state legislative districts in Mississippi and North Dakota and directed them to be reconsidered in light of the Louisiana ruling, and that Alabama’s congressional districts faced a similar reversal after the Supreme Court took action last week.

South Carolina’s session showed how redistricting decisions can ripple beyond congressional boundaries. The AP said an amendment adopted Monday would allow dozens of state board members chosen by congressional districts—including college trustees, utility regulators, and parole board members—to remain in their positions until after the 2030 census, even if congressional maps change sooner. Democratic state Rep. Annie McDaniel described that as a warning sign about the downstream effects of redistricting outside normal procedures, saying, “We’re talking confusion on top of confusion on top of confusion.”

As lawmakers debated the bill, the House changed its own rules for the floor. Monday’s session ended with Republicans voting nearly unanimously to limit debate, with each House member allowed one amendment and just three minutes to advocate for their change; the AP reported there were over 600 amendments on the desk when the rule was changed. Democratic Rep. Spencer Wetmore said she did not know of any other time the House has limited the number of amendments filed, and Democratic Rep. Spencer Wetmore said, “We’re changing the rules in the middle of the game.”

The House debate came as election administration timelines also moved. The AP reported that some absentee and overseas military votes for South Carolina’s June 9 primaries had already been cast, and that early in-person voting was scheduled to begin May 26. In addition to redrawing congressional districts, legislation pending in the state House would move the U.S. House primaries to August; the bill would need to clear the House before going to the Senate.

Republican Gov. Henry McMaster, who called the lawmakers into the special session, said it was important for South Carolina to send as many Republicans as possible to Washington so Democrats would not take control of the House and attempt to impeach President Donald Trump. Some Republicans expressed concern, however, that an attempt to draw a 7-0 map could stretch Republican voters too thin and make some Republican-held districts vulnerable to Democratic victories.

The overall national picture remains a mix of strategy and litigation. The AP reported that Republicans are ahead in the redistricting battle so far, with Republicans citing potential additional seats from new House maps in multiple states, while Democrats anticipate additional seats from maps in California and Utah; it also noted that litigation is ongoing in some states and that voters ultimately decide who wins.