FILE PHOTO: American representative Jim Clyburn (D-SC) speaks on stage at the Charleston International African American Museum
A proposal to eliminate the only Democratic district in South Carolina’s House of Representatives, supported by President Donald Trump, was rejected by the State Senate thanks to a few Republicans’ votes.
This vote is likely to result in Jim Clyburn, a influential black Democrat within his party, retaining his seat in the House of Representatives in the November mid-term elections.
Republican Governor Henry McMaster of South Carolina still has the option to convene a special legislative session to review this electoral redistricting proposal, but he seems to oppose this idea at this stage.
On the other hand, the Missouri State Supreme Court has upheld a new electoral map, supported by Republicans, that eliminates one of the state’s two Democratic seats.
These contrasting developments highlight that the national battle over electoral redistricting shows no signs of slowing down, especially after last month’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court giving states more leeway to tackle majority black and Latino districts.
This decision has provided Republicans with ammunition as they strive to maintain their slim majority in the House of Representatives during the November mid-terms.
Several Republican-controlled Southern states have rushed to take advantage of the Court’s decision.
Tennessee has adopted a new electoral map dividing a majority black district, while Louisiana and Alabama have postponed their primaries for the November elections to give Republican legislators time to redraw the maps.
Black voters generally support Democrats.
South Carolina House Republicans had presented a proposal that would have allowed lawmakers to postpone primaries and dismantle the district represented by Jim Clyburn since 1993.
Donald Trump had urged state senators to support this move, stating in a social media post on Monday that he was “closely monitoring” the situation.
However, he fell two votes short in the South Carolina Senate vote to achieve the necessary two-thirds majority. Republicans already control the state’s other six House districts.
(Joseph Ax, French version by Benoit Van Overstraeten, Editing by Augustin Turpin)
