McMaster expected to call special session on district lines

“I urge the General Assembly to finish its work according to the U.S. and South Carolina constitutions and the best interests of the people,” he added.

Lawmakers have operating under a pressure campaign by President Donald Trump’s White House to redraw the state’s maps with the intent of weakening the district held by the state’s lone Democrat in Washington, U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-Columbia.

The goal is to give Republicans control of all seven of the state’s congressional districts.

Some Republicans in the state Senate, though, have rejected the plans, expressing concerns about the splitting of so-called “communities of interest” for the sole benefit of boosting Republican prospects in the 2026 midterms.

Figures like Mount Pleasant Mayor Will Haynie, who opposes redistricting, had been spotted in the Statehouse in recent days amid proposed maps that would draw his community out of his Charleston-centric district into lines shared with Myrtle Beach.

The House, meanwhile, has continued full bore with redistricting plans, advancing a redistricting bill to the full House of Representatives earlier this week that would both redraw the lines and extend the primary calendar, with an election prospectively scheduled for Aug. 18.

What does this mean?

The decision comes after a flurry of Statehouse activity May 13.

House and Senate leadership, including Senate President Thomas Alexander, Massey, House Speaker Murrell Smith and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Weston Newton were spotted meeting in McMaster’s office prior to the 10 a.m. start of the work day, not speaking with the reporters assembled outside.

Later in the day, the House voted to approve a “clean” session-ending sine die agreement with the House that would allow members to extend the session solely to discuss the state budget and any bills still in conference committees that needed to be negotiated by the House and Senate.

It’s still not certain whether redistricting could pass during a special session. But it seems likely.