Democrats notched two wins in the same day in South Carolina and Alabama, gaining small but needed ground in the nationwide redistricting wars before the fall.Show Caption
The Republican-controlled South Carolina Senate bucked President Donald Trump and on May 26 rejected an effort to draw new congressional districts before the midterm elections.Democrats' Palmetto State victory marked one of two small but needed wins on the same day for the national party, which has lost considerable ground over the last few weeks in the redistricting wars gripping the country ahead of November.While congressional Democrats in Washington remain bullish that they'll take back the House of Representatives in the fall, a series of bruising court decisions has set them back considerably, preventing them from gerrymandering states in equal measure with Republicans.Fueled by Trump and the conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court, partisan map-drawing has spread like wildfire, with both parties in Congress aiming to grow and more deeply entrench their footholds in the House.The GOP's push in South Carolina would've targeted the seat held by U.S. Rep. James Clyburn – the only Democrat in the state's federal delegation.The South Carolina House passed the redistricting bill last week, but the state Senate held off until May 26, which was also the start of early voting in the state. In a vote of 26-18, the chamber moved to halt discussions of redistricting until the next legislative session.Though Republican state Sen. Richard Cash had previously voted in favor of redistricting, he said the deadline for a new congressional map passed once early voting began. More than 32,000 people had already voted early as of 1 p.m. May 26, according to the South Carolina State Election Commission."It is time to conclude this matter," he said.Nancy Mace, a Republican congresswoman running for governor in the state, was not happy with the political punt."South Carolina Senate needs to finish the job," she wrote on social media.SC Dems take victory lapDemocrat Brad Hutto, the South Carolina Senate minority leader, said the outcome was proof that the "rules matter." Karl Allen, another Democrat in the state legislature, commended the Republicans who crossed party lines."We hope to have a South Carolina that is inclusive of all the best interests of all the citizens of South Carolina," Allen said.The South Carolina Senate will now be adjourned until June 10, when it will be back in session to continue budget debates and discussions on other bills. Lawmakers could also continue redistricting talks then.Redistricting wars rage onOn the same day as the South Carolina Senate vote, Democrats also gained slight ground in Alabama. A federal court there blocked the state's GOP from eliminating a majority-Black district and a safe Democratic seat. An appeal is likely in that case. The Alabama ruling represented yet another twist in the nationwide redistricting saga.Yet, as the latest developments in South Carolina show, not every state has been willing to upend their electoral maps.Last year, the Senate in Indiana similarly defied Trump's demand for redistricting to add more GOP-leaning seats in December. Incensed by the pushback from local Republicans in the Hoosier State, the president endorsed a slate of primary challengers in response, and five incumbents were ultimately ousted this year.
