State Political Developments: South Carolina Governor's Race and Redistricting Sessions

These reports describe distinct state-level political events in South Carolina and Texas that are not independently corroborated as a single connected story. In South Carolina, Gov. Henry McMaster, barred by term limits from seeking re-election, will not appear on the 2026 gubernatorial ballot, marking the state's first open governor's race since 2010; the Republican primary field includes Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, who has Trump's backing, along with two members of Congress and the state attorney general, according to NBC News. Separately, McMaster ordered a special legislative session in South Carolina, set to begin after the close of the regular 2026 session, for lawmakers to consider redrawing the state's congressional district lines, according to the SC Daily Gazette; that session was also expected to address finalizing the state budget ahead of a July 1 effective date. In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott issued a proclamation in August 2025 calling a second special legislative session with a 19-item agenda that included redistricting, a ban on taxpayer-funded lobbying, and measures related to human trafficking victims, according to the Texas Governor's Office. These are single-source accounts for each respective event, and no independent corroboration across at least two publishers was available to verify details beyond what each original source reported. The relationship, if any, between the South Carolina and Texas redistricting efforts is not established in the available reporting. Abbott's proclamation reportedly criticized House Democrats for leaving the state and delaying flood relief and other legislation, though this claim comes from a single official source and is not corroborated elsewhere. Further developments in South Carolina's gubernatorial primary and both states' redistricting processes remain pending.