An effort to reshape South Carolina's congressional districts got its first full airing Monday in the state House, as lawmakers launched what could become a lengthy discussion on whether to accede to President Donald Trump's desires for a U.S. House map that could yield a clean sweep for Republicans.
Tense debates already have played out in Tennessee, Alabama and Louisiana as Republicans push aggressively to leverage a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that weakened Voting Rights Act protections for minority districts. The ruling has opened the way for Republicans to redraw districts with large Black populations that have elected Democrats.
But in South Carolina, some Republicans have reservations about a plan targeting a seat long held by U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, the only Democrat among the state’s seven House representatives.
State Rep. Nathan Ballentine said South Carolina has probably seen more projects and funding from the federal government thanks to Clyburn being in office. He said he has asked constituents whether they support redistricting and over half of reliable Republicans — people who voted in at least four recent GOP primaries — are against it
“My mama raised me just because you can doesn’t mean you should,” Ballentine said.
Clyburn has said he has no intention of retiring, even if his district gets changed.
Redistricting ripples spreading through states
Last month's Supreme Court decision striking down a Black-majority congressional district in Louisiana has led to reversals in several other redistricting cases. On Monday, 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.
It took a similar action last week for Alabama's congressional districts, creating an opening for Republican state officials to try to use a map in the midterm elections that could help the party win an additional seat.
Redistricting typically occurs at the start of each decade, based on new population figures from the census.
South Carolina's debate showed the complexity of changing congressional district boundaries mid-decade. 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 stay in their positions until after the 2030 census, even under the new congressional map.
Democratic state Rep. Annie McDaniel said it was an example of how congressional redistricting outside normal procedures causes other problems.
“We’re talking confusion on top of confusion on top of confusion,” McDaniel said.
Monday's session ended with Republicans voting nearly unanimously to limit debate. Each House member will be allowed one amendment and just three minutes to advocate for their change to the bill. There were over 600 amendments on the desk when the change was made.
Democratic Rep. Spencer Wetmore said she doesn’t know of any other time that the House has limited the number of amendments filed.
“We're changing the rules in the middle of the game,” Wetmore said.
South Carolina looks at changing congressional primaries
Some absentee and overseas military votes have already been cast for South Carolina's June 9 primaries. Early in-person voting is 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. If it clears the House, the legislation then must go to the Senate.
Republican Gov. Henry McMaster, who called lawmakers into a special session on redistricting, said it is important for South Carolina to send as many Republicans to Washington as possible to try to prevent Democrats from taking control of the House and attempting to impeach Trump.
But some Republicans have expressed concern that an attempt to draw a 7-0 House map for the party could spread Republican voters too thin, making some current Republican-held districts susceptible to Democratic victories.
Republicans are ahead in the national redistricting battle thus far. Since Trump urged Texas Republicans to redistrict last year, Republicans think they could gain as many as 15 seats from new House maps in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Florida, Tennessee and Alabama. Democrats, meanwhile, think they could gain six seats from new maps in California and Utah. But litigation is ongoing in some states, and voters will have the final say on who wins.