The governor of Utah rejects the congressional map drawn by Republicans, and embraces the creation of an alternative district with Democratic leanings

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah judge on Monday rejected a new congressional map drawn by Republican lawmakers, adopting an alternative proposal to create a Democratic-leaning district before the 2026 midterm elections.

Republicans hold all four U.S. House seats in Utah and have presented a map ready to protect them.

Judge Diana Gibson ruled before the midnight deadline that the new Legislature’s map “unjustifiably favors Republicans and disfavors Democrats.”

She had ordered lawmakers to draw a map consistent with criteria set by voters to ensure districts do not intentionally favor one party, a practice known as gerrymandering. If they fail, Gibson warned she might consider other maps submitted by plaintiffs in the lawsuit that prompted her to throw out Utah’s current map.

Gibson ultimately chose a map drawn by women plaintiffs, the League of Women Voters of Utah and Mormon Women for Moral Government. It keeps almost all of Salt Lake County within one district, rather than dividing the heavily Democratic population center between the four districts, as was previously the case.

The judge’s ruling deals a painful blow to Republicans in a state where they expect a clean sweep while working to add winnable seats elsewhere. Nationally, Democrats need to pick up three seats in the U.S. House of Representatives next year to wrest control of the chamber from the GOP, which is trying to buck the historical pattern of the president’s party losing seats in midterm elections.

The newly approved map gives Democrats a much stronger chance of flipping their seat in a state that has not had a Democrat in Congress since early 2021.

“This is a win for every Utahn,” House and Senate Democrats said in a joint statement. “We took an oath to serve the people of Utah, and fair representation is the true measure of that promise.”

In August, Gibson overturned Utah’s congressional map adopted after the 2020 census because the Legislature circumvented anti-gerrymandering standards passed by voters.

The ruling thrust Utah into a national redistricting battle, with President Donald Trump urging other Republican-led states to begin redistricting in the middle of the decade to try to help the GOP retain control of the House in 2026. Some Democratic states are considering new maps of their own, with California voters last week approving a map that gives Democrats a chance to win five more seats. Republicans are still ahead in the redistricting battle.

Redistricting typically occurs once every decade after the census. There are no federal restrictions on redrawing districts mid-decade, but some states — led more by Democrats than Republicans — set their own limits. The Utah ruling gives an unexpected boost to Democrats, who have fewer opportunities to gain seats through redistricting.

If Gibson had instead approved the map drawn by lawmakers, all four districts would still lean Republican, but two of them would have been slightly Democratic. Their proposal bet on Republicans being able to protect all four seats under much smaller margins rather than creating a single left-leaning district.

The ruling came minutes before midnight on what the state’s top elections official said was the latest possible date to enact a new congressional map so county clerks have enough time to prepare to file candidates for the 2026 midterms.

Republicans argued that Gibson did not have the legal authority to enact a map that had not been approved by the Legislature. State Rep. Matt McPherson called the ruling a “gross abuse of power” and said he opened a bill to pursue impeachment of Gibson.

In her ruling, Gibson said she was obligated to ensure a legal map was drawn up by the deadline.