Two setbacks have occurred in the so-called 'redistricting war' where President Donald Trump is attempting to redraw congressional districts in favor of Republicans ahead of the November midterm elections.

South Carolina state senators have revolted, and a federal court has blocked a redistricting plan pushed by Republicans in Alabama.

As early in-person voting began for the South Carolina primary on Tuesday the 26th, the State Senate rejected a plan proposed by Republicans to cancel the House elections and instead hold new primaries under revised districts to oust a long-serving Democratic congressman.

Some state senators argued it was too late to make changes. "South Carolinians are heading to the polls today," said Republican State Senator Richard Cash. "There's no conscience or common sense to stop an election that's already started."

In South Carolina, Republicans hold 6 out of the 7 federal House seats, with Democrats holding 1. Republican leadership had pushed for redistricting to ensure all 7 districts would be won by Republicans.

However, despite Republican dominance, the South Carolina State Senate revolted against Trump's plan, effectively thwarting it by rejecting the state-level proposal.

In Alabama, a three-judge federal panel issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting the state from using a House map drawn by Republicans. This map had been adjusted to allow Republicans to gain an additional seat.

The court ruled that the plan "intentionally discriminated on the basis of race" by including only one majority-black voting district and ordered the continued use of a court-drawn map that includes two majority-black districts.

Governor Kay Ivey had pushed for this redistricting, intending to hold special primaries for the changed districts even though the primaries had already begun. The state legislature concurred and passed the map, but the court blocked it.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, a Republican, vowed to appeal quickly to the U.S. Supreme Court, predicting he would ultimately prevail.

Democrats, who were on the verge of a significant defeat in the redistricting war, welcomed this turn of events.

"The fight for justice is far from over in states across the country where politicians are layering gerrymandering on top of gerrymandering to disenfranchise communities of color," said Marina Jenkins, executive director of the National Redistricting Foundation, a non-profit under the Democratic National Redistricting Committee.

Districts are redrawn after the decennial census, but President Trump urged Republican-led states to redraw districts before the November midterms to counter the political headwinds that typically cause Republicans to lose seats in midterm elections.

Since President Trump urged Texas to redraw its districts last summer, Republicans have enacted new House districts in Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Florida, and Tennessee.

Meanwhile, California voters adopted a new district map that favors Democrats by 5 seats, and a court in Utah also mandated a district map that favors Democrats by 1 seat.

However, in Virginia, a district map favored by Democrats, which had been approved by voters, was nullified by the state Supreme Court, disrupting Democratic plans. This map could have added 4 seats for Democrats.

Georgia will use the 2024 district map for this year's midterm elections, and Governor Brian Kemp has convened a special session in June to create new maps for subsequent elections.

US NNP=Reporter Sung Ku Hong / Special Dispatch NNP info@newsandpost.com