Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on Wednesday suggested South Carolina should conduct redistricting efforts boosting Republicans, arguing the state must “fight fire with fire” in response to Virginia Democrats conducting such efforts in the commonwealth.
Graham’s call to action comes after Virginia voters on Tuesday approved a constitutional amendment that would allow the state to redraw its congressional districts, allowing Democrats to flip four seats blue and control 10 out of its 11 seats in the House.
“Republicans in South Carolina should consider being bold and fighting back,” Graham responded. “After the Virginia Democrats’ efforts to redistrict in order to increase Democrat seats in the House of Representatives, South Carolina should consider fighting fire with fire.”
“I would encourage South Carolina’s next Republican governor and the Republican legislature to seriously look at what our state’s response should be to Democrats in Virginia,” he added.
South Carolina is a heavily red state. Democrats, through Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC), control only one of the state’s seven House seats.
The race between Democrats and Republicans to see which party could redraw their political maps to pick up the most seats in the House sparked in 2025, when Texas Republicans decided to conduct a rare mid-decade congressional redistricting effort, designed to help the GOP win five additional seats.
VIRGINIA REDISTRICTING REFERENDUM TIGHTENS INTO DEAD HEAT AS EARLY VOTING SURGES
The move sparked a nationwide competition between the parties, with California, Florida, Missouri, and other states attempting to follow suit.
The redistricting agenda has seen pushback from critics and from the courts, due partly to concerns about gerrymandering. In Virginia, a federal judge on Wednesday struck a blow to Democrats’ hopes of redrawing the maps, declaring that Tuesday’s referendum on the matter was unconstitutional. Before Virginia’s referendum, Democrats were on track to gain six seats nationally through redistricting, compared to Republicans’ nine.