South Carolina's redistricting effort fails in the state Senate amid GOP opposition

Source: NBC News

May. 26, 2026, 1:44 PM EDT


The Republican-led South Carolina Senate on Tuesday voted against a measure to advance a new congressional map, ending the last-minute redistricting effort in the state for now.

The motion to end debate — which failed with a vote of 20-24 — was a surprise rejection of President Donald Trump, who had urged lawmakers to pass a redrawn map that eliminated the state’s single majority-Black district and gave Republicans a chance to win the seat.

The South Carolina House approved the map last week in hopes of putting it into place for this year’s midterm elections. As part of the effort, lawmakers also sought to set another primary election for the affected districts in August. But after early voting began on Tuesday for the previously scheduled June primary, some Republicans changed their mind on the matter. “Neither my conscience nor my common sense will allow me to stop an election that is already underway,” said Republican state Sen. Richard Cash, a Republican who changed his vote due to timing.

“A process that properly done took our state senate nine months, 10 community hearings, eight subcommittee hearings, our own demographic analysis, our own work, and contrast that with what we’re doing now. We have completely outsourced our constitutional obligation to prepare a congressional redistricting map to a consultant in Washington, D.C. We have no idea, no idea how that map was created. Now, in fairness, he did show up for a House subcommittee meeting via Zoom and spoke for seven minutes and 40 seconds. Then he had to leave another appointment. He said he was going to take no questions. Took no questions. Seven minutes and 40 seconds is our legislative record supporting this map. Seven minutes and 40 seconds.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/south-carolinas-redistricting-effort-fails-state-senate-gop-opposition-rcna346962