Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC) warned Republicans to be “very careful what you pray for” as efforts backed by President Donald Trump continue to be pushed by South Carolina Republican lawmakers to redraw district maps in the state. If the effort is successful, it would target Clyburn, who is the only Democratic member of the state’s U.S. House of Representatives.
Referred to as a “kingmaker” within the Democratic Party, Clyburn’s support for former President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign was largely credited with helping the former vice president win the White House. He has served over three decades, but could end up ousted from his position if the South Carolina legislature votes in favor of redrawing district lines.
During an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” program with host Jake Tapper, Clyburn went on to say that he believed he would win an 18th term, claiming that if the GOP successfully redraws the lines there are “possibilities of at least three Democrats” being elected to Congress in South Carolina. “I don’t know why people think I could not get re-elected if they redistrict South Carolina,” Clyburn told Tapper.
“I have a district that’s about 45% African American. I have no idea what the number will be after the legislature finishes, but whatever that number is, I will be running on my record and America’s promise,” he added, according to Fox News. At the start of the interview, Tapper asked Clyburn about comments made about the Supreme Court’s decision concerning the Voting Rights Act by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
“Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, he called the Supreme Court’s decision to weaken the Voting Rights Act, as it were, quote, another step towards resurrecting the Jim Crow. South Georgia Democratic senator Raphael Warnock said it was a quote, ’21st century version of Jim Crow in new clothes.’ Do you agree?” Tapper asked.
“Absolutely, I agree. So much so that I’ve been saying this now for the last four or five years, and people been looking at me as if I’m crazy or something. I just published a book. I think we’ve talked about it. Yeah, the first eight. That is about the eight African Americans that served in Congress from South Carolina before me. I’m the ninth,” Clyburn replied.
“And the fact of the matter is, they all were kicked out of office over this kind of orchestrated gerrymandering, as well as the kind of creative devices that you see putting forth in the so-called Save Act that something else that the President wants, he’s been trying to force the Senate to pass, to say it back. I would ask anybody take a look at the SAVE Act, and then take a look at my book,” the congressman continued.
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“The first eight that book will tell you exactly what they did after the Civil War, after bringing reconstruction to an end and initiated Jim Crow. There are 95 years between number eight in my book, and yours truly, number nine, that did not happen organically. That happened because Congress and the Supreme Court changed the rules, as they are doing today,” Clyburn told Tapper.
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