South Carolina gubernatorial candidate Rep. Ralph Norman (R) is calling for the state to push out “kingmaker” Rep. Jim Clyburn (D) with a redistricting effort.
Clyburn is the only Democrat representing South Carolina in Congress.
Norman said Republicans should use their supermajorities in the South Carolina State House and Senate to redraw the lines. The state legislature controls the Palmetto State’s congressional lines.
“We have Republican supermajorities in South Carolina. Let’s use them to create more competition in our congressional seats. I have no doubt Republicans can be successful in every part of our state,” Norman told Fox News on Wednesday.
Norman’s call to redistrict comes as Republican lawmakers in Texas consider a new congressional map that would add several GOP seats to the Republican majority in 2026. Several blue states are pondering responses to Texas to even the redistricting score.
The South Carolina congressman launched his campaign for governor last month, joining a crowded Republican field that includes Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), state Lt. Gov. Pam Evette, and state Attorney General Alan Wilson.
South Carolina’s congressional lines were last redrawn in 2022, but the current plan is under litigation.
Norman says the seat should be redrawn to increase the Republican House majority. “That will help increase Republican control of Congress and help President [Donald] Trump pass his agenda. Every vote counts toward a conservative Speaker Mike Johnson rather than a liberal Speaker Hakeem Jeffries of New York City,” Norman said.
He said while he does respect Clyburn, he doesn’t want him in office for his past support of former President Joe Biden. “Jim Clyburn is a nice man, and I respect him. But he is a liberal Democrat who helped put Joe Biden in the White House,” Norman said. “That’s not the kind of representation South Carolina needs.”
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Clyburn has represented South Carolina’s Sixth Congressional District since 1993 and won reelection in 2024 by around 23 points.
The Cook Political Report rates his district D+13. It comprises parts of Charleston and all of Allendale, Bamberg, Calhoun, Clarendon, Hampton, and Williamsburg counties.