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War Room

South Carolina

SC-06 · Clyburn's seat held for 2026 · On the Nov 3 ballot under the existing map · Republicans shelved the redraw — for now
Win · May 26
State Senate vote · South Carolina
Clyburn's seat stays. SC Republicans kill the Trump-backed redistricting push.

South Carolina's Republican-led state Senate voted down a mid-decade redistricting plan that would have eliminated Rep. James Clyburn's majority-Black 6th District — defeating a last-minute effort backed by the Trump White House. GOP Sen. Richard Cash: “Neither my conscience nor my common sense will allow me to stop an election that is already underway.” Sen. Tom Davis condemned outsourcing redistricting to “a consultant in Washington, D.C.,” noting the original process took nine months versus weeks for this rushed effort. Early voting had already begun. Clyburn held. SC stayed 6-1 for 2026.

source: nbc news →
Situation Report Updated Sept 10, 2026
Clyburn's district survived the 2026 redraw. On November 3, SC-06 votes on its existing lines — but the push to erase it has been shelved, not settled.

After the U.S. Supreme Court's Louisiana v. Callais decision, Republicans moved to erase SC-06. On May 12, 2026, the state Senate fell short of the two-thirds needed to extend its session — five Republicans voted no — despite public pressure from President Trump. Gov. Henry McMaster then called a special session, and at 12:39 a.m. on May 20 the House passed a new congressional map 74–37 that would have eliminated Rep. Jim Clyburn's district. On May 26 — the day early voting began — the Republican-led Senate refused to end debate, killing the map. GOP Sen. Richard Cash: "Neither my conscience nor my common sense will allow me to stop an election that is already underway." What it means for November 3: SC-06 votes on its existing lines. Clyburn won the June 9 Democratic primary over Frederick Goodwin and faces Republican John Peterson, who beat Maurice Washington for the GOP nomination. Clyburn is seeking an 18th term; he has said it could be his last, while leaving that decision open. What comes next: senators shelved the redraw for this year — not for good. The state Supreme Court declined in September 2025 to strike the current map as a partisan gerrymander, so any new attempt runs through the legislature and the governor's office. Several Republican candidates for governor publicly pressed for this spring's special session. The governor and legislators chosen in coming elections decide whether SC-06 is targeted again before 2028.

Situation report · Updated Sept 10, 2026
Strategic Intelligence Available South Carolina is tracked in our redistricting intelligence database — district-level vulnerabilities, dummymander opportunities, and strategic action.
The District We Held
SC-06 · Held for 2026 · On the Nov 3 Ballot
South Carolina's 6th Congressional District
Rep. Jim Clyburn · D · Since 1993 · Nov 3 vs. John Peterson (R)
The only majority-minority congressional district in South Carolina (Black-plurality at 47.3% Black) and the only Democratic seat in the delegation. Rep. Clyburn, former House Majority Whip and one of the most influential Black legislators in American history, has represented this district for more than three decades. In May the state House passed a Trump-backed map that would have eliminated SC-06; the Republican-led Senate refused to advance it on May 26, the day early voting began. Clyburn won the June 9 Democratic primary and faces Republican John Peterson on November 3 on the existing lines. The seat is held for this cycle, not settled: Republicans shelved the redraw for now, not for good. The stakes do not change: without SC-06, South Carolina erases all Black representation in its U.S. House delegation despite a Black population of about 25%.
✓ Held for 2026 · Watch 2028
Census + Context ACS 2023
Black share 43.7% Diluted from majority · S.C. 26.4% · U.S. 13.7%
Median household income $58,458 72¢ on the U.S. dollar
Child poverty 23.5% S.C. 18.0% · U.S. 15.2%
SNAP households 14.1% 1 in 7 households · rural grocery deserts
Organizing anchors Pee Dee Orangeburg Sumter Florence SC State · Claflin · Allen
Recent Coverage
WRDW · June 2026
Clyburn wins Democratic nomination for U.S. House seat →
ABC News 4 · June 2026
Rep. James Clyburn clears Democratic primary in 6th Congressional District →
Post and Courier · June 2026
SC redistricting effort is dead, but U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn has 3 challengers in 6th District race →
NBC News · May 2026
South Carolina's Trump-backed redistricting push fails in the state Senate amid GOP opposition →
Post and Courier · May 2026
SC Senate Judiciary advances redistricting plan after midnight vote in SC House of Representatives →
What SC-06 Has Delivered for Black South Carolinians
30+
Years of Black Congressional Representation
Rep. Jim Clyburn has served SC-06 since 1993 — the longest-serving Black congressman in South Carolina history and the only Black member of South Carolina's U.S. House delegation.
Nov 3
SC-06 on the Ballot — Existing Lines
The House passed the Trump-backed redraw 74–37 after midnight on May 20, 2026; the Republican-led Senate killed it May 26. Clyburn (D) now faces John Peterson (R) on the map the redraw failed to replace.
~25%
of South Carolina Is Black
One majority-Black district out of seven congressional seats is the bare minimum. A 7-0 Republican map would make South Carolina one of the most extreme racial gerrymanders in modern American history.
By the Numbers · SC-06

By The Numbers.

Two census measures that ground the fight over SC-06, Rep. Jim Clyburn's Black-plurality seat, which Republicans tried and failed to eliminate in the 2026 special-session redraw.

Black Population

Black residents make up nearly half of SC-06 — 47.3% — making the district Black-plurality and the only majority-minority seat in South Carolina.

The Black share runs roughly 4× the national rate and nearly 2× South Carolina's statewide share — concentrated in Orangeburg, Pee Dee, and Black neighborhoods of Columbia.

SC-06
47.3%
S. Carolina
~25%
U.S.
11.7%
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 5-year estimates
Black Voting-Age Population

Black residents make up roughly ~44% of SC-06's voting-age electorate, and the seat has sent a Black member to Congress continuously since 1993 — proving that the lines were drawn around an electorate that votes for its own representation.

Clyburn's seat has held continuous Black representation for more than three decades on this Black voting-age foundation. The 2026 redraw would have dissolved that base by cracking Columbia east, Orangeburg, and Sumter into surrounding white-majority districts to reach the "7-0 Republican map" a SC lawmaker put on the record. The Republican-led Senate refused to advance it on May 26, and the seat held — SC-06 votes on these lines November 3.

SC-06
~44%
S. Carolina
~24%
U.S.
~12%
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 5-year estimates · BVAP
Sources & Methodology

Population, voting-age population (VAP), and Black voting-age population (BVAP): U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Partisan lean (PVI) and race ratings: Cook Political Report, with district-level updates following the 2026 redraw cycle. Voter registration and file data: South Carolina State Election Commission public records, supplemented by commercial voter files from Catalist, L2, and TargetSmart. Polling and electoral analysis: Blue Rose Research, Equis Research, Pew Research Center, and Sabato's Crystal Ball (UVA Center for Politics). Map status, 2026 special-session timeline, and litigation: South Carolina General Assembly records; reporting from NBC News, NPR, and The Post and Courier; South Carolina Supreme Court, League of Women Voters of South Carolina v. Alexander (2025); and published positions from NAACP Legal Defense Fund and ACLU of South Carolina. 2026 primary and general-election candidates: South Carolina Election Commission, WRDW, and ABC News 4. Field intelligence: relayed from named partner organizations through coalition coordination; reflects current operating conditions rather than peer-reviewed analysis.