South Carolina Congressional Redistricting Stalls, McMaster's Position Shifts

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster is at the center of a dispute over congressional redistricting ahead of the 2026 election. The state Senate adjourned its regular session without giving third reading to a redistricting bill, leaving the state without a new congressional map in place for the upcoming election cycle. The South Carolina primary is scheduled for June 9. According to a mid-May report from The Hill, McMaster had planned to call state lawmakers into a special session to take up a new congressional map that would wholly favor Republicans, after the regular session's redistricting effort stalled in the Senate. A later statement issued by the Governor's office, dated closer to the primary, said the state would not have a new congressional map for the 2026 election and that McMaster urged South Carolinians to vote confidently under the existing map. The two accounts reflect differing positions attributed to McMaster at different points in time, with the earlier report describing an intent to pursue a new map via special session and the later statement indicating the state would move forward without one. It remains unresolved whether a special session was ultimately called, and if so, what action, if any, was taken during it. The reason for the apparent shift in McMaster's position between the two reports is not explained in the available materials. The specific content and partisan makeup of the proposed new map referenced in the earlier report have not been independently detailed beyond the characterization that it would favor Republicans.