South Carolina state senators, including Republicans, voted against adopting new congressional maps during an active election period. The vote rejected a bid to redistrict at the 11th hour, which would have eliminated the state’s only Democratic representative in Congress. The decision was made as voting for primaries had already begun, with in-person voting starting that day and Jim Clyburn casting his ballot before a press conference. Republican state Sen. Richard Cash reversed his earlier support, citing conscience and common sense as reasons not to stop an election already underway. The outcome preserves Clyburn’s seat, which he has held for 17 terms since 2011. The rejection contrasts with other red states that have complied with White House pressure.
"South Carolina state senators, including Republicans, have at least a sliver of shared backbone among them. They needed that spine in order to defy kingmaker/legislator-eradicator Donald Trump, who has in recent weeks successfully led charges to primary several defiant GOP lawmakers. In the case of SC's state senate, however, the legislators were presumably thinking about the absolutely terrible optics of being asked to adopt new congressional maps at the 11th hour when voting has already begun, which would have eliminated the state's only Democratic representative in Congress, and they thus rejected the bid on Tuesday, voting 20-24 to use the previous maps."
"The move will presumably save the seat held by 17-term Democrat Jim Clyburn, the man who has been the only Democrat in the state's congressional delegation since 2011. "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 previous supporter of the effort who flipped his vote on Tuesday. As Cash notes, voting for primaries in South Carolina is already underway, and in-person voting literally began today, with Clyburn casting his own vote this afternoon before holding a press conference."
"So South Carolina senate again just killed the redistricting bill. Given what's happened so far I wouldn't say anything is ever final. But another big reverse. I'm sure Trump will be stoked. The rejection of the presidential demand to redistrict and eliminate the state's sole Democratic seat in the U.S. House of Representatives comes as a surprise, given that most red states in similar positions have simply folded to pressure from the White House and crammed through redistricting, whe"
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