McMaster plans to call special session to redraw South Carolina House map
Why this matters: political developments that affect policy direction and public trust.
South Carolina GOP Gov. Henry Mc Master is expected to announce a special session on redistricting, teeing up the state legislature to pass a Republican gerrymander that would almost certainly cost Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn his seat in this year’s midterms. Clyburn is the sole Democrat in South Carolina’s House delegation; the new map would dismantle his district, leaving the state with 7 likely red seats and no Democratic-leaning ones. Mc Master’s plan — confirmed by four people familiar with the decision, who were granted anonymity to share private details — is a reversal of his position earlier this month and follows pressure from President Donald Trump and his allies to gerrymander the state. The looming special session comes after five Republican state senators voted with Democrats to block a measure that would have allowed them to redraw South Carolina’s districts this cycle without a call from McMaster. The special session will allow lawmakers to pass a new map with a simple majority, making it likely that it will advance given the GOP’s margins.