Unbelievable: South Carolina GOP Majority Leader Sides with Dems on Redistricting

With people like Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) walking the halls of the U.S. Capitol, the movement to actively sabotage the conservative agenda from within the Republican Party is alive and well. Both men have their allies and acolytes in the Senate and Congress, and as we’re seeing in the redistricting battles in the states, the trend is not limited to Washington, D.C.

While a group of Republicans in Indiana's state legislature rejected President Donald Trump’s redistricting efforts in that state, the good news is most of the legislators who opposed Trump have just been primaried.

It’s one thing for Republicans to face headwinds when the Democrats rise up against Republican redistricting efforts, but it’s inexcusable for Republican-dominated legislatures in red states to stymie the party’s agenda at such a critical time in our country’s history.

That brings us to Republican South Carolina State Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey. He’s been in the state Senate for 19 years and has been majority leader for 10. Last time he ran for reelection in 2024, he was unopposed. His next test before the voters is 2028. Remember this.

Massey has now won some new friends in the New York Times editorial suites with his decision to oppose Trump’s redistricting plans for South Carolina. That’s right. Massey, the Republican majority leader in the South Carolina Senate, openly and actively undermined his own party while advocating for the Democrat Party. Let that sink in.

South Carolina GOP State Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey speaks out against redistricting effort: "We are the most gerrymandered Republican state in the country already!" pic.twitter.com/vtB5XWZYZf

— TheBlaze (@theblaze) May 12, 2026

In return for his loyalty to the left, the New York Times rewarded the useful idiot with this characterization of his betrayal:

In an impassioned, roughly 45-minute speech that spoke to national frustrations over anti-democratic gerrymanders, Mr. Massey listed the reasons he would vote not to return to the Capitol to take up redistricting.

‘Too many people in power just want to do whatever it takes to stay in power…They’ll do whatever it takes to keep it, but I ask to what end? What do you do with it when you’ve attained it?’

When the New York Times describes a Republican with words like “impassioned,” you know he sold his party out.

When Massey delivered his 45-minute defense of his betrayal and his advocacy for the opposition party, he tried to have it both ways. He continues to describe himself as “partisan,” after not just crossing over to the other side of the aisle, but sprinting there and throwing political Molotov cocktails back across the aisle at his own party.

He tried to characterize himself as a Trump loyalist, pointing to other issues where he has sided with the president, though it must be noted that, in all of those cases, he was just one of many. In this case, Massey was critical to the Republican agenda, and this is where he decided to desert the party.

Massey said he still wanted Republicans to win in November’s midterms, but he made it clear his party would get no help on redistricting from him.

There are seven U.S. congressional districts in South Carolina. Six of those seats are already held by Republicans. Redistricting would fall in line with the recent Supreme Court decision that you can’t define districts by race. If a new redistricting map were confirmed, it’s likely that all seven South Carolina districts would be controlled by Republicans, and just as importantly, it would force the retirement of Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) who essentially handed the Democratic nomination to Joe Biden in 2020.

Given that states like Illinois, California, and all of New England have gerrymandered their congressional maps to squeeze Republicans out, redistricting efforts in red states are the only option the GOP has to try to make sure Republicans aren’t completely pushed to the fringe in the House.

Massey is a smart guy. He sees this, and he rejects it, and you can only speculate as to why. You can watch Massey’s full rant on YouTube, but it’s not worth the time. It’s a massive defense of political treason.

One of the great rhetorical tricks of defense lawyers and politicians is to come over to your side and, in plain language, attack their own position, and then go back over to their position so as to frame it as the only reasonable option. This often convinces juries and voters that the speaker sees their side and has fully considered it, and he probably wouldn’t take the position he’s taking if it’s not the only reasonable thing to do.

“What I am concerned about is how will this be received by people in the middle…Look, everybody – I think we get lost on this sometimes – everybody in South Carolina is not a rabid partisan like I am. Everybody in South Carolina is not a rabid partisan like we are. Most people in South Carolina think we’re freaking crazy,” said Massey.

Of course, he’s right, but only by half. Most people in South Carolina also now know that Massey is a snake who can’t be trusted.

If you let someone talk long enough, they’ll end up arguing against themselves, and that’s exactly what Massey did:

I would hope that the home team can retain the majority. And I would also hope that if the home team retains the majority, that they’ll actually do something productive with it. Over the last year and a half, I suspect if we look back at what they’ve done with the majority, I don’t know that anybody in here could name more than one piece of legislation they’ve passed.

And no matter how big and beautiful it was, there’s a whole lot more that they’ve left on the table. And that, to me, is disappointing – to have a majority that doesn’t do anything with it, Massey said.

You have to be reminded that he actually said all of this – that Republicans in Washington have not lived up to their promise – in real time while not living up to his own promises to his constituents. 

It’s like he’s saying, “What’s the point of sending one more Republicans to Washington if they break their promises, and so that’s why I’m breaking my covenant with you.”

Massey has been highly praised in the legacy media and by Democrats, who have called him “principled” and “nuanced.” Trust me, if you’re a Republican and the Democrats are describing you like this, you’ve lost your way.

The state senator from South Carolina has to know the consequences of his actions. My guess is he’s working on an exit strategy for 2028, if not sooner. If Trump had anything to say about it, by this time next week, Massey would put on a blue vest and be a greeter at Walmart.

Find out what you’re missing behind the members-only wall. It’s time for you to take advantage of the full catalogue of common-sense thinking that comes with a PJ Media VIP membership. You’ll get access to content you didn’t even know you wanted, and you’ll be hooked. The good news is, PJ Media VIP memberships are on sale! Get 60% off of an annual VIP, VIP Gold, or VIP Platinum membership! Use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off a VIP membership!