Dem
47
GOP
53
Let's stick around the Carolinas for a minute. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is up, but the Democrats don't have a serious horse in that race, so Graham will coast. The action in the Palmetto State is in the House—the state House. It just passed a new congressional map that eliminates Rep. Jim Clyburn's (D) D+13 district around Columbia and Charleston. Unseating Clyburn would give the Republicans a 7-0 shutout. Clyburn is 85, pushing 86, so his best years are probably behind Still, the very heavily gerrymandered SC-06 district is 47% Black, so some younger Black person could be elected there when Clyburn has had it.
him.The bill is likely to meet some resistance in the state Senate, though. First, there are Democrats in South Carolina and they have to go somewhere and getting rid of a D+13 district could make some other members vulnerable in a very big blue wave. Second, early voting starts on May 26 for the June 9 primary. Changing the map this close to an election means members who have been campaigning for months may suddenly discover they spent a lot of time in places no longer in their district and no time in places now in their district.
Third, several Republican mayors, including the mayor of Charleston, don't want a new map. Fourth, due to Clyburn's prowess, South Carolina has been showered with goodies during Democratic administrations. If a Democrat is elected president in 2028 and 100% of the South Carolina congressional delegation consists of Republicans, the federal faucet will be abruptly shut off because there will be nobody in the delegation the president listens to. That will be a big shock.
State Rep. Robert Reese (D) summed up how South Carolina Democrats are likely to campaign up and down the ballot in November: "By all means, let us continue this great march of progress by redrawing the congressional maps. Because nothing lowers a power bill like redistricting." (V)