Shane Massey rejected Donald Trump’s demand to redraw South Carolina’s congressional map in a 45-minute address to the state senate on Tuesday, setting up a public break with senior Republicans who had been pressing for a new map this week. Massey said he was speaking to three audiences at once: his colleagues in the chamber, Republican voters in South Carolina and the president himself.
The Senate Republican leader said the move would not be worth the political risk, even as he made clear he shared Trump’s frustration with Democrats. He said he had no qualms about ticking off Democrats and argued that South Carolina was already as gerrymandered by party, not race, as it could be without creating a vulnerability for Republicans. His case was built around protecting the electability of GOP lawmakers who would have to absorb Democratic voters if the lines were redrawn.
The fight matters because six of South Carolina’s seven U.S. House districts are already held by Republicans, and the proposed map would dismantle the one district now held by Democrat James Clyburn. That makes the dispute less about partisan balance than about whether Republicans are willing to trade one safe seat for a chance to deepen their control before November’s midterm elections.
The push for a redraw has unfolded as the party scrambles across the country to rewrite key congressional maps after the Supreme Court effectively gutted a major section of the Voting Rights Act that had barred racial discrimination in redistricting. In South Carolina, the pressure has been especially intense because the state’s current map already favors Republicans heavily, and senior GOP figures, including Henry McMaster, have been among those urging redistricting.
Massey’s defiance carried extra weight because it came after a phone call with Trump last week, which he said was the first time he had ever spoken with the president. He told senators that Trump had given him more time than he expected and described the call as a good conversation. According to Massey, Trump said, “Look, I hope you can help us out,” then added, “But I understand you got to do what you’re comfortable with, you got to do what you think is right.”
Massey said Trump also told him, “These people are crazy” and “These people hate me.” Massey replied, “Yes, sir, I agree with you,” but said, “That doesn’t bother me,” and added, “I do that every day standing right here.” The exchange underscored the tension inside the party: Trump wanted the map redrawn, McMaster and other GOP leaders were pushing for it, and Massey concluded that the safer path for Republicans was to leave the existing lines alone and keep their current advantage intact.
