Republican Governor Calls Special Session To Address Redistricting

“I have issued an Executive Order calling the General Assembly back for an extra legislative session to address the state budget and congressional districts beginning Friday, May 15, at 11:00 AM,” McMaster said.

I have issued an Executive Order calling the General Assembly back for an extra legislative session to address the state budget and congressional districts beginning Friday, May 15, at 11:00 AM.

— Gov. Henry McMaster (@henrymcmaster) May 14, 2026

NBC News shared further:

McMaster initially chose not to set a special session, but he changed course after the Republican-led state Senate rejected a measure this week to extend its current session to take up a redrawn map, despite pressure from President Donald Trump.

South Carolina is one of a spate of Southern states rushing to redraw their maps to create more Republican-leaning seats after the U.S. Supreme Court gutted Voting Rights Act protections against racial gerrymandering in a major ruling last month.

Since then, Tennessee has enacted a new map that carves up the state’s lone majority-Black district, represented by Rep. Steve Cohen. The Supreme Court cleared the way for Alabama to implement a map with one less majority-minority district than it has now. And Thursday, the Louisiana Senate passed a map that targets one of the state’s two Democratic-held seats.

South Carolina’s congressional delegation consists of 6 Republicans and 1 Democrat in the House of Representatives.

Rep. Jim Clyburn is the lone Democrat.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster is expected to announce a special session on redistricting, teeing up the state legislature to pass a Republican gerrymander.

It would almost certainly cost Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn his seat in the midterms.https://t.co/fpfvoT1uhy

— POLITICO (@politico) May 13, 2026

More from The New York Times:

If Mr. McMaster calls the special session, lawmakers would face a time crunch. South Carolina’s primaries are on June 9, but early voting begins in two weeks, so Republicans would have to pass new maps before May 26.

The South Carolina House has proposed moving the congressional primaries to August to accommodate new maps.

There are also legal hurdles to consider. Hundreds of overseas voters have already cast ballots, which could prompt lawsuits if their votes are discarded to account for a change of date in congressional elections.

It is still unclear if new maps would pass in a special session, although Republicans control the legislature and would need only a simple majority to approve them.

Davey Hiott, the Republican leader of the South Carolina House, told reporters that his chamber was ready to get things rolling on Friday morning and vote on a map as quickly as possible, ideally next week.

Shane Massey, the Republican leader of the State Senate, who drew national attention for his impassioned speech against redistricting, was much more apprehensive about moving fast. He said public input was important and continued to voice opposition to the redistricting effort.