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Rep. Jim Clyburn, DC, warned Republicans to “be very careful what you pray for” amid Trump-backed efforts by South Carolina Republican state lawmakers to redraw the state’s map — an effort Clyburn, the lone Democratic member of the US state House of Representatives, will oversee.
Considered a “king” in the Democratic Party, Clyburn’s endorsement of presidential candidate Joe Biden during the 2020 election was widely credited with helping Biden win the presidency. He’s been in Congress for more than 30 years, but now he’s facing uncertainty as the South Carolina legislature voted Wednesday to redraw the state’s congressional lines.
However, in an interview with CNN’s “State of the Union,” Clyburn said he believes he will win his seat for an 18th term, adding that if Republicans succeed in their redistricting effort in South Carolina, “it’s possible that at least three Democrats” will be elected to Congress in the state.
“I don’t know why people think I can’t get re-elected if they close South Carolina again,” Clyburn said. “I have a district that is about 45 percent African American. I don’t know what the number will be when the legislature is over, but whatever that number is, I will be running on my record and the promise of America.”
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Former House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, DC, listens to DeAndrea Gist Benjamin, nominee for US District Judge for the Fourth Circuit, during a meeting in South Carolina. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images)
Clyburn hit the X on Thursday, accusing Republicans of trying to “break” his district after the state House voted Wednesday to consider redrawing the district’s federal map.
“Republicans in the South Carolina state legislature have begun the process of extending their term to allow for the redrawing of the state’s federal map — with one goal in mind: eliminating the only Democratic House district held by a Democrat,” Clyburn wrote in X.
“This fight is bigger than one district,” Clyburn continued. “It’s about whether our democracy is for the people, or for politicians who change laws when they don’t like the results.
A spokesperson for Clyburn pointed to the congressman’s X post when reached for further comment.
The South Carolina legislature’s vote responded to the Supreme Court’s decision last month in Louisiana v. Callais, which ruled in a 6-3 decision that the state’s push to create a second black district was unconstitutional. The decision imposed strict criteria for establishing districts based on the racial makeup of districts, opening the door for states to reexamine the majority districts first created under the Voting Rights Act.
“This decision threatens to send our country deeper into the jungle of endless conflict, with aggressive redrawing of the map, protracted legal battles, and relentless partisan bickering, all of which will lead to retroactive Court decisions,” Clyburn said of the Supreme Court decision.
“This Court seems too determined to rescue post-Reconstruction America that violated the Civil Rights Act of 1875 and other legislative and judicial measures that greatly reduced Black participation and achievement, and eliminated African American political representation in many Southern states,” Clyburn continued.
After Clyburn’s call to Democrats, a South Carolina House subcommittee on Friday voted 3-2 to advance legislation that would push back the state’s June 9 primary election by two months. The goal is to give the legislature more time to pass its redrawn map, which would give Republicans a better chance of a 7-0 majority in the House. However, even if the primary election is postponed, the effort is considered a cumbersome process and will confuse the voters, the Executive Director of the regional Electoral Commission Conway Belangi told the State.
The South Carolina Election Commission noted that more than 6,000 absentee ballots had been mailed to military members and overseas voters before the start of June, and more than 200 ballots had been mailed.
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The South Carolina State House in Columbia, SC, is on display as lawmakers consider the Prenatal Equality Protection Act, a bill that would classify abortion as murder under state law. (Logan Cyrus/AFP)
The House Judiciary Committee held its own hearing focused on the state’s redistricting push. During the trial, Belangi estimated that it would cost between $2.2 million and $2.5 million to move the primary to August.
House members have proposed appropriating $2 million from the state budget next year to cover the expected costs of legal battles over the map.
Fox News Digital has reached out to South Carolina’s Senate Majority Leader for further comment.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, RS.C., talks to reporters at the US Capitol during the vote on Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc)
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South Carolina Republicans’ push to redraw the district map is the latest move by GOP-led states to redistrict congressional districts in an effort to preserve the party’s majority following the midterm elections.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, RS.C., first suggested weeks ago that South Carolina lawmakers consider targeting the Clyburn district, in response to a successful campaign by Virginia Democrats to pass a ballot measure that redraws the congressional map of that state, resulting in a 10-1 win for Democrats. However, the Virginia Supreme Court overturned the state’s map on Friday, causing an uproar among Democrats.
