South Carolina Senate Rejects Bid to Extend Session for Redistricting

The Republican-led South Carolina state Senate voted 29-17 on Tuesday against a procedural measure that would have extended the legislative session to consider redistricting. The vote fell two votes short of the two-thirds majority required, with five Republicans joining Democrats to oppose the proposal.

The state House had passed the measure a day earlier. South Carolina’s regular legislative session is scheduled to end Thursday, and its congressional primaries are set for June 9.

” Massey added that the proposed map carried “too much risk” because “margin numbers kept changing,” and he expressed concern that altering districts could result in a less favorable split than the current 6-1 Republican advantage. He stated he did not want to see Democrats gain the House speakership and believed the existing maps offered more certainty.

Massey also said he had “too much Southern blood” to surrender to outside pressure.

The measure would have allowed time to redraw the state’s 6th Congressional District, the lone majority-Black district represented by Democratic Rep. James Clyburn. ” Trump had also suggested moving U.S. House primaries to August.

Republican Gov. Henry McMaster could still call a special session, though next steps remained unclear Tuesday evening. The vote prevents lawmakers from beginning the multistep process of adopting a new map before the session ends this week.

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling last month limiting the use of race in redistricting has prompted map-drawing activity in several states. Tennessee passed a map last week that divided its only majority-Black district. Alabama and Louisiana have taken steps toward new lines.

Republicans project gains of as many as 14 seats from maps enacted over the past year compared with six for Democrats. Missouri’s Supreme Court ruled separately Tuesday that a new congressional map drawn by Republicans last year can take effect for this year’s elections.