A delegation worthy of a red state
South Carolina is a Republican state. Voters have made that clear in election after election, by margins that leave no real doubt. Yet our congressional delegation, thanks to district lines that no longer match how South Carolinians actually live, sends a representative to Washington whose voting record sits directly at odds with the values of the people he claims to serve. The redistricting proposal before the General Assembly would finally fix that mismatch, and it deserves the full support of anyone who believes representation ought to reflect reality.
Consider the incumbent. Jim Clyburn is the man who gave the country Joe Biden. He may be a kingmaker in Washington, but he has never been a champion for South Carolina. He does not show up for Charleston. He does not deliver for Berkeley County. He answers to party bosses in the nation’s capital while the Lowcountry communities he nominally represents go without serious attention. We deserve a congressman who works full time for South Carolina, not part time for the Democratic National Committee.
The Sixth District as currently drawn is not a genuine community of interest. It is the product of map drawing engineered to produce a particular outcome, and that result has outlived whatever justification it once had. The proposed map replaces the contrivance with districts that follow coherent geography and respect county lines, restoring the basic honesty that ought to guide any fair apportionment.
Critics call the timing inappropriate. The argument falls flat. Texas, Tennessee, North Carolina, California, Virginia, and Missouri have all moved to bring their maps in line with their political character. For South Carolina to sit on its hands while other states act would amount to surrendering representation our voters have plainly earned.
Daniel Island and the broader Lowcountry deserve a representative whose convictions match the constituents’. South Carolina is a red state. Our map should reflect that. The General Assembly should pass this proposal, and it should not wait.