GOP-controlled South Carolina Senate kills 2026 redistricting push despite Trump pressure

Lucy Valeski and Joseph Bustos, The State (Columbia, S.C.) on May 26, 2026

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COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Senate killed a proposed congressional map for the 2026 election as thousands of voters went to the polls Tuesday, rebuking pressure from the White House to create seven reliably Republican districts.

With a record number of primary voters casting their ballots around the state Tuesday, the Senate’s Republican supermajority could not muster enough support to limit debate and force a final vote on a new congressional map.

“The deadline has passed, voting has begun,” said state Sen. Richard Cash, an Anderson Republican. “It is time to conclude the matter.”

Senators voted 26-18 to “continue” the redistricting bill and adjourned without taking up amendments or giving it a final vote, effectively killing the effort.

Twelve Republicans joined all 12 Democrats to oppose limiting debate Tuesday. On Saturday, only seven Republicans voted against invoking cloture, a procedure to cut debate short.

Lawmakers on both sides of the redistricting debate said Saturday support for a new congressional map would wane once early polls opened Tuesday.

McMaster called the General Assembly back to take up redistricting less than an hour after both chambers adjourned for the year May 14. McMaster previously said he would leave redistricting up to the Legislature and did not anticipate a special session.

The House passed the new congressional map after three days of debate last Tuesday. But it had a more difficult time in the state Senate, where more Republicans were skeptical of the last-minute effort and limiting debate had more hurdles.

Republican leaders in the House and Senate said the White House pushed South Carolina to try to redraw its congressional map and oust U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn just weeks before the primary election.

But when early voting began Tuesday, senators believed it was too late to keep trying to redraw the congressional maps. By 1 p.m., 32,300 ballots had been cast in person.

Clyburn, who voted in Orangeburg on Tuesday morning, told reporters before the Senate gaveled in he would have run in whatever district he lived. He encouraged residents to go out and vote early.

“The voters, all them asking, what can we do?” Clyburn told reporters Tuesday morning. “Vote early. Make them throw your vote out. And so that’s what this is about. Vote early, as many people as possible, and I think they’re listening.”

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