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By Kate Plummer
Senior US News Reporter
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South Carolina Republicans in the state senate have defied a push from President Donald Trump to approve plans to redraw the state's congressional map, sparking a backlash from other GOP lawmakers who saw it as a potential way to boost Republican chances of future electoral success.
The South Carolina state senate convened to vote on Tuesday for a proposal to extend the state's legislative session to tackle redistricting.
However, five Republican state senators joined with the Democrats to stop the redistricting moves, blocking any chance the chamber had of voting for the change. The five GOP politicians were Shane Massey, Sean Bennett, Chip Campsen, Tom David, and Greg Hembree.
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National Redistricting Fight
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The national redistricting fight in which Republicans and Democrats alike have attempted to draw new state maps to impact the results of future votes is in a new phase, after a 6-3 decision in Louisiana v. Callais from the Supreme Court struck down Louisiana's congressional map last month.
Voting rights advocates said the ruling weakened decades of protections against minority vote dilution, while Republican officials said it clarified constitutional limits on the use of race in redistricting.
Ahead of the vote, Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that Republicans were "counting on their Elected Leaders to use every Legal and Constitutional authority they have to stop the Radical Left Democrats from destroying our Country."
"BE BOLD AND COURAGEOUS, just like the Republicans of the Great State of Tennessee were last week!" he wrote, referencing Tennessee approving a new congressional map, eliminating the state's one Democratic congressional district. "GET IT DONE!" he added.
Defying Trump
But after Shane Massey, the Republican majority leader in South Carolina's senate, argued that redistricting would not be in the interest of South Carolina, legislators voted 29-17, falling two votes short of the two-thirds needed for it to go ahead. All Democrats as well as the five Republicans voted against the redistricting proposal.
GOP politicians have previously voted against Trump's redistricting wishes. In December, the Indiana Senate rejected a vote to redistrict the state. The proposed redistricting measure was expected to give the GOP two more seats in the state.
In May, Trump backed primary challengers to Indiana Republicans who had voted against the redistricting plans. Five incumbents were unseated after Trump's intervention.
Massey gave his 45-minute speech after speaking to Trump on the phone last week, he said.
He acknowledge he thought there wouild be "likely consequences" for his stance, like backlash from Trump and other politicians. "I've got to look in the mirror," he said. "My conscience is clear on this one, y'all," he added.
He also rejected being influenced by outside actors. “I cannot in good conscience surrender this authority that has been preserved to, for and by the states and merely take orders from those who are not in South Carolina,” he said.
Massey also said that changing maps was "extremely risky" and said that it could result in Democrats taking a seat.
He added that it was important to question "to what end" people stay in power. “Too many people in power just want to do whatever it takes to stay in power,” he said. “They’ll do whatever it takes to keep it, but I ask to what end? What do you do with it when you’ve attained it?”
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Vote Fuels Republican Anger
In response to the South Carolina events, writing on X, several GOP politicians expressed their anger. South Carolina Republican Nancy Mace, who is running for Governor in the state, wrote: "Never thought I'd see 'Republican' legislators in the South Carolina Senate defending race-based gerrymandering, but here we are."
"Two of my opponents wasted whatever was left of their political capital today to embarrass themselves at the statehouse," she added.
Alan Wilson, another South Carolina gubernatorial candidate, called the decision "a missed opportunity for South Carolina." Wilson, the state's attorney general, called on South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster to "call for a special session" to consider redistricting. "The time to act is now," he said in a post on X.
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Ralph Norman, another South Carolina Republican running for governor said the state's Senate had "blocked the will of We the People and President Trump." He said the Republicans who voted against the proposal should not "be in public office after the next election."
Newsweek reached out to the White House by email to comment on this story outside of normal business hours.
South Carolina Redistricting
South Carolina is a Republican stronghold. The GOP holds six out of the state's congressional districts, The state's only Democratic district, which is majority-Black, is represented by James Clyburn and, on Tuesday, a House committee endorsed a map that could eliminate his seat and voted to let lawmakers return after their regular working hours to consider it further, before the state senate quashed these plans.
Massey had said in a floor speech that the "state is stronger" when there are "a clash of ideas."
“I believe that our state is stronger with vibrant parties," he said. "I think we, as a whole, are stronger when we have a clash of ideas. I think that’s true at the national level. I think it’s true at the state level. We are stronger when we have a clash of ideas and we can discuss those policy goals. Republicans are stronger when the Democrat Party is vibrant and viable.”
Redistricting in Missouri and Tennessee
The Missouri Supreme Court enacted the state's Republican-drawn map on Tuesday, meaning it will likely take effect for the midterms. The court ruled the new map did not violate the state constitution's redistricting clause.
Missouri Republicans currently hold 6 seats to the Democrats' 2 in the U.S. House and the new map is expected to boost the GOP's chance of winning an extra seat.
Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton removed Democraric lawmakers from House committees on Tuesday amid a protest about the state's newly enacted redistricting measure.
Republicans unveiled a proposed map last week would split majority-Black Shelby County among three districts and divide Maury County, a move that could imperil Democratic Representative Steve Cohen, who represents the state’s 9th Congressional District.
Sexton removed Democrats after alleging disruptions special session on redistricting like blocking aisle on the House floor and breaking House rules.
What Happens Next?
Posting on X, McMaster signalled there was still time for the legislature to pass measures.
"The General Assembly still has two full days in which to finish its important work, including giving full consideration—as sought by the people—to the important question of redistricting," he wrote.
"I urge the General Assembly to finish its work according to the U.S. and South Carolina constitutions and the best interests of the people."
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