South Carolina Republicans tank redistricting, for now

The South Carolina Senate just made it harder for the state to redraw its congressional map, resisting pressure from President Donald Trump.

Lawmakers on Tuesday failed to reach the two-thirds majority needed to approve a measure that would have allowed them to take up a vote on redistricting even after the legislative session ends later this week. Five Republicans joined all Democrats in voting against the proposal.

Republican Gov. Henry McMaster could still call a special session, though his office has so far dismissed that idea.

The Tuesday vote doesn’t mark a definitive end for redistricting efforts in the Palmetto State. But it does make it less likely that Trump will get his wish of eliminating the state’s sole Democratic district — represented by the powerful Rep. Jim Clyburn — by this year’s midterm elections.

“The South Carolina State Senate has a big vote tomorrow on Redistricting. I’m watching closely,” Trump wrote on social media Monday evening.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey told reporters in Columbia last week that he would oppose any effort to redraw the state’s congressional maps. His resistance drew the attention of Republicans in Washington, including Trump who called the senator at least twice to encourage him to take up the redistricting effort.

Massey still voted against the measure. In an impassioned speech prior to Tuesday’s vote, he acknowledged that his decision will likely draw the ire of national Republicans: "I understand that there are likely consequences for me personally standing here right now and taking the position that I'm in. ... My conscience is clear on this one, y'all.”

He took a swipe at national Republicans for failing to deliver much with the majority they currently have. And he warned that if Republicans were to draw out Democrats entirely from the state’s congressional delegation, South Carolina risks losing influence the next time a Democrat occupies the White House.

Given Tuesday’s vote, any further attempts to change the map will likely be met with similar resistance. Under sustained pressure from national Republicans, McMaster could still change tack and choose to call a special session to move forward with a redraw.

It’s not the first time Trump has been met with resistance from within the GOP on redistricting. Republicans in Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska, Kentucky and New Hampshire resisted calls from Trump and his political team to redraw House lines last year — though several state lawmakers in the Hoosier State paid for that decision in this month’s primaries.