NPR | Tuesday, May 26, 2026 
Trump-backed redistricting plan is rejected in the South Carolina Legislature

South Carolina lawmakers dealt President Trump’s national redistricting effort a blow Tuesday when the state Senate voted against redistricting there after three weeks of rushed hearings and long debate. Trump had been pushing state Republicans to redraw voting lines so they could flip a seat currently held by Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn. It would have made all the state’s seven congressional districts lean Republican and it would have extended the GOP lead in the national redistricting race, already netting them around nine more seats in the U.S. House. Early voting in the June 9 primary had started Tuesday morning and was one factor some Republican senators cited for opposing the redistricting, which had dragged on through weeks of on-and-off debate. A move to bring the bill to a vote failed in the Senate when 12 Republicans joined 12 Democrats on a key procedural vote to block the 26 votes needed to end debate and bring up a vote on the bill. A second procedural vote fell even more short. – The state senate is not up for election this year – Several Republicans moved to the opposition saying that changing the map could disenfranchise some voters. Around 26,000 cast ballots within the first several hours of polls opening, putting Tuesday on track to break early primary voting records. Republican state Sen. Richard Cash echoed that concern from the floor Tuesday and said time had run out. “Voting has begun, it is time to conclude the matter,” Cash said. “I know there’s going to be a lot of anger and frustration that we did not get the job done. I get it. Many of us are also frustrated and disappointed at what is a very unsatisfying outcome.”- Read more