Mac Deford, Democratic candidate for Congress in South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, on Thursday condemned South Carolina Republicans’ attempt to redraw the state’s congressional map in the middle of an election year, calling it a desperate effort to protect political power instead of addressing the challenges facing South Carolinians.
“This is exactly why people are tired of politics,” said Deford. “South Carolinians are dealing with rising costs, broken infrastructure, and a Congress that has forgotten how to do its job. And what are Republican politicians doing? They are trying to rig the maps to protect themselves.”
Deford said the effort would also have serious consequences for representation in South Carolina, including for Congressman Jim Clyburn’s district.
“Congressman Clyburn has spent decades serving this state and ensuring that communities too often ignored by Washington have a voice,” said Deford. “With South Carolina’s primary election just weeks away, voters, candidates, and election officials deserve certainty, not an election-year redistricting fight driven by national politics. South Carolinians deserve fair maps, stable elections, and representatives who answer to them, not to party pressure from Washington.”
Some South Carolina Republicans have reportedly expressed concern that the effort could backfire by creating up to two districts where Democrats are competitive.
“In South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, Republicans seem to be making a serious political miscalculation,” said Deford. “Their proposed map would not put this race out of reach. It would make SC-01 even more competitive. Polling already shows me in a dead heat with the Republican frontrunner, and national Democrats have already put this race on the DCCC’s target list. The GOP is trying to draw a map to protect itself. Instead, it may be creating an even clearer path for voters to flip one of the most competitive seats in the South.”
Deford, a U.S. Coast Guard veteran and attorney, said the fight over South Carolina’s map is part of a larger national crisis in democratic accountability.
“This is bigger than one district, one map, or one election,” said Deford. “No party should be allowed to rig the rules for its own advantage. Voters should choose their representatives, not the other way around. That is why I am committing to fight for federal legislation to ban partisan gerrymandering nationwide by 2030.”
Deford said any federal ban should create clear national standards for congressional redistricting, prohibit maps drawn primarily to entrench one party in power, require transparency in the map-drawing process, and ensure voters have meaningful legal remedies when politicians manipulate districts for partisan gain.