Opinion: Sen. Cash Deserves Credit for Upholding State’s Integrity
Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer
The South Carolina Senate deserves a round of applause after killing efforts to redraw the state’s congressional lines before the June 9 primaries, even as early voting got under way across the state.
The effort, driven by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster’s loyalty to President Donal Trump, pushed the state to eliminate the seat of state delegation’s only Democratic seat held by long-time Rep. Jim Clyburn.
A dozen Republicans, including Anderson County’s S.C. Sen. Richard Cash, one of the S.C, Senate’s most conservative members, joined 12 Democratic senators on a procedural motion to kill the bill for this year. Concerns of the prospect of invalidating an estimate of more 45,000 votes cast on a record-breaking day of primary early voting.
"Neither my conscience nor common sense will allow me to stop an election that is already underway," said Cash. "I understand the anger and frustration that we could not pass our redistricting bill any faster, but the rule of law is the bedrock principle of our constitutional republic and, I'll emphasize, it is also a bedrock principle of conservatism."
A 26-18 vote for a continuation of the bill into the next session ended the redistricting effort for the year.
It is not Cash’s first stand on rule of law when it comes to redistricting. He joined other Anderson County Legislative Delegation members in 2023 to thwart an attempt by S.C. Rep. April Cromer to redraw the school board member districts in Anderson One which would have overlapped current incumbent board members.
Representing District 3 in Anderson County, Cash has built a reliably conservative record in Columbia, especially on abortion and LGBTQ issues. He first won the seat in a 2017 special election and was re-elected in 2020 and again in 2024, when he won District 3 with 44,446 votes.
He also served on several influential senate committees, including Education, Family and Veterans’ Services, Judiciary, Medical Affairs, and Rules. His most visible legislative fights have centered on abortion restrictions; in 2025, he authored Senate Bill 323, a proposal that would have imposed one of the nation’s strictest abortion bans, though it failed to advance.
At the same time, Cash’s has made serving his district a priority and brought significant funding home to Anderson County. He has also won support from conservation advocates, including perfect scorecard marks from Conservation Voters of South Carolina in recent sessions
Cash is to be commended for maintaining the rule of law in the face of pressure from the president, the governor and colleagues pandering to politics over law and common sense.
