State Watch

McMaster calls on South Carolina lawmakers to return for redistricting special session

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by Sarah Davis - 05/14/26 7:27 PM ET

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by Sarah Davis - 05/14/26 7:27 PM ET

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The governor of South Carolina announced a special legislative session on Thursday to push through a new congressional map that would effectively eliminate the state’s singular Democratic House seat.

The move is the latest in a widespread redistricting effort from both parties ahead of the November midterm elections.

Republican Gov. Henry McMaster issued an executive order after the state legislature adjourned its regular session on Thursday, directing state legislators to reconvene on Friday morning to consider the new map.

The proposed new lines would significantly reshape the state’s majority-Black 6th District, which is currently represented by Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.). Clyburn is the lone Democrat out of the state’s seven House members.

The governor previously said he would not initiate a special session, but he has faced mounting pressure from the Trump administration to enact these new congressional lines.

“South Carolina Republicans: BE BOLD AND COURAGEOUS, just like the Republicans of the Great State of Tennessee were last week! Move the U.S. House Primaries to August, leave the rest on the same schedule,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Monday.

In a statement on Thursday, the chair of the state’s Republican Party celebrated the governor’s decision.

“We appreciate Governor McMaster’s leadership in ensuring South Carolina addresses congressional redistricting,” Drew McKissick said. “Thanks to the Supreme Court ruling, Republicans have an opportunity to get this done, and we should maximize it. Now is the time for lawmakers to stand with President Trump, defend the Constitution, and finish the job.”

South Carolina Senate Democratic Leader Brad Hutto pushed back against the executive order in a statement shared on social media.

“At a time when South Carolinians are worried about affordability, healthcare, education, and the future of our economy, the Governor has chosen to call lawmakers back for a special session focused entirely on politics and power,” Hutto wrote.

After the Supreme Court weakened a key provision of the Voting Rights Act in its recent 6-3 decision in Louisiana v. Callais, several Republican governors have called special legislative sessions in their states to consider new congressional maps.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) approved a new congressional map last Thursday, which could net Republicans an additional House seat in November. Additionally, Republicans in Louisiana’s Senate voted to advance a new congressional map out of committee on Wednesday, which would effectively eliminate one of the state’s two majority-Black voting districts.

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