South Carolina Senate rejects Trump's call to redraw congressional map

Politics South Carolina Senate rejects Trump's call to redraw congressional map Updated on: May 26, 2026 / 2:27 PM EDT / CBS/AP Add CBS News on Google As early in-person voting began Tuesday in South Carolina's primaries, the state Senate rejected a Republican plan to cancel those congressional votes and instead schedule a new primary under revised districts designed to help the GOP oust a longtime Democrat.Some senators said it was simply too late to make a change."South Carolina citizens are going to the polls today. And neither my conscience or common sense is going to let me stop an election that is already underway," GOP state Sen. Richard Cash said.Among the first to cast an early ballot in the small city of Orangeburg was Rep. Jim Clyburn, the Democrat whose district Republicans were trying to reshape in their quest for a clean sweep of South Carolina's seven congressional seats. A defiant Clyburn insisted he would run for reelection, regardless of what the district looks like."I'm OK if it's Trump plus 20," Clyburn said while describing the potential Republican advantage in a reshaped district. "I would be running where I live."The political drama in South Carolina is part of a Republican strategy — propelled by Mr. Trump — to redraw voting districts to the GOP's advantage in an attempt to hold on to a slim House majority in the midterm elections. Republicans have been moving quickly to try to leverage a recent Supreme Court ruling that weakened minority protections under the federal Voting Rights Act. Campaign signs near a polling location in Columbia, South Carolina, on Tuesday, May 26, 2026. Sam Wolfe / Bloomberg via Getty Images But the GOP also suffered a setback Tuesday in Alabama, where a three-judge federal panel issued a preliminary injunction blocking the state from using a Republican-drawn congressional map that could help the GOP win an additional seat. The court said the Republican plan "intentionally discriminated based on race" by...