Henry McMaster
South Carolina Governor whose post-Callais redistricting push was blocked by his own Senate caucus.
Last refreshed: 19 May 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Why did South Carolina Republicans block their own Governor's redistricting push?
Timeline for Henry McMaster
Pressured the state Senate to proceed with redistricting but was overruled by Senate Majority Leader Hiott
US Midterms 2026: South Carolina Senate blocks post-Callais redraw- Why did South Carolina block redistricting after Louisiana v. Callais?
- Senate Majority Leader Davey Hiott told members the state would not proceed with redistricting despite Governor Henry McMaster's pressure and the House passing a calendar extension. Senators were unwilling to absorb the risk and exposure of a rushed mid-decade redraw.Source: Lowdown
- How long has Henry McMaster been Governor of South Carolina?
- McMaster has been Governor since 2017, when he was appointed after Nikki Haley became US Ambassador to the UN. He was elected in his own right in 2018 and re-elected in 2022.
Background
Henry McMaster is the Republican Governor of South Carolina, and the central figure in one of the more embarrassing post-Callais redistricting failures. McMaster pushed for South Carolina to redraw its congressional map in the wake of Louisiana v. Callais, seeking to expand the Republican seat count. The state House passed a calendar extension enabling the session to proceed, and McMaster applied direct pressure on senators — but Senate Majority Leader Davey Hiott simply told members the state would not proceed, killing the effort on the floor without a vote.
McMaster has been Governor since 2017, initially appointed after Nikki Haley became UN Ambassador, and elected in his own right in 2018 and 2022. He was an early and prominent supporter of Donald Trump in 2016, when such endorsements were politically risky, and has remained a close Trump ally. He has generally had strong legislative relationships within the state GOP, making the Hiott rebuke unusual.
The South Carolina failure — alongside Mississippi's decision to narrow its post-Callais session to state Supreme Court districts only — reduces the Callais seat harvest from the notional 15-seat ceiling toward a lower range of 12 to 15 seats cited by Cook Political Report.