Freshman who pushed Trump map in SC’s failed redistricting loses reelection

Freshman state Rep. Luke Rankin, R-Laurens, lost his bid for reelection outright Tuesday evening. He sponsored the failed legislation to redraw South Carolina’s congressional maps just weeks earlier.

Rick Shealy defeated Rankin by about 20 points in the Republican primary, according to state Election Commission data. All results are unofficial.

Rankin was the lead sponsor on a new congressional map pushed by the Trump administration in May. The map, which aimed to make all seven congressional districts in South Carolina reliably Republican, would have gone into effect for the ongoing election.

The proposed map, drawn by the National Republican Redistricting Trust, split Richland County three ways, lumped Charleston and Myrtle Beach in one district and connected Williams-Brice stadium to Clemson University. While state Republican leadership initially seemed skeptical of middecade redistricting, phone calls from the White House changed their mind at the last minute.

It ultimately didn’t have enough time to pass through both chambers before early voting began May 26.

“The balance of power in Congress is incredibly narrow, and what we do today could ensure that Republican majority,” Rankin said before the House passed the proposed congressional map.

Shealy founded an environmental services company in Laurens County, according to his campaign website. He will face Michanna Tate, the only Democratic candidate to file, in November.

“Thank you to everyone who supported, prayed for, volunteered and believed in this campaign,” Rankin posted on social media Tuesday night. “We gave it everything we had.”

Shealy earned 3,089 votes, and Rankin picked up 2,050 in his Laurens County district, according to Election Commission data.

His defeat means there will now only be one Luke Rankin in the General Assembly next year: Judiciary Committee chairman state Sen. Luke Rankin.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.