COLUMBIA — South Carolina Republican state senators rejected a congressional redistricting plan on Tuesday that would have dismantled Rep. Jim Clyburn’s majority-Black district. The decision leaves intact the 6th District, which Clyburn has represented for 34 years across 17 terms.

The proposed map, backed by former President Donald Trump, aimed to redraw South Carolina’s congressional boundaries in a way that could have given Republicans a chance to win all seven of the state’s House seats. Republican leaders had pushed for the change, but a majority of GOP state senators declined to advance the plan, citing the ongoing early voting period for the June primary. “South Carolina citizens are going to the polls today. And neither my conscience or common sense is going to let me stop an election that is already underway,” Republican state Sen. Richard Cash said.

Clyburn, who voted in Orangeburg on Tuesday—the first day of early voting—had vowed to seek an 18th term regardless of any map changes. “I don't care where the lines are drawn, I'm going to run. I'm going to run on my record and America's promise. And I think the majority of people in the congressional district will relate to that,” Clyburn said in an interview outside the U.S. Capitol last week.

He also responded to the redistricting effort on social media, writing on X: “We have someone in the White House that wants Republicans to ignore the Constitutional principles for which this current map was drawn. A critical number of Republicans did not believe in putting a man over the law. Today, members of the South Carolina State Senate stood up for the constitutional principles that they say they believe in.”

Claire Wofford, a College of Charleston political science professor, said the district’s existence has had dual effects. “What it's done is ensure minority representation in cases where you might otherwise not have it. You've also ensured Republican control in the remaining parts of the state.” She attributed the redistricting push less to personal animosity toward Clyburn and more to Trump’s influence over the GOP. Wofford also pointed to South Carolina’s independent political streak, saying, “You can trace it back to the fact that this state was the first state to secede from the union. And I feel like South Carolina has always felt itself a little bit immune from national pressure.”