Red state judge chooses new congressional map in fight that could reshape House control
In a blow to Republicans, a Utah district judge rejected a congressional district map drawn up by the state's GOP-dominated legislature and instead approved an alternate that will create a...
By Fox News · Fox News
In a blow to Republicans, a Utah district judge rejected a congressional district map drawn up by the state's GOP-dominated legislature and instead approved an alternate that will create a Democratic-leaning district ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Republicans currently control all four of the red state's congressional districts, but Utah District Judge Dianna Gibson ruled late Monday that a map drawn up by GOP lawmakers "unduly favors Republicans and disfavors Democrats." Utah is the latest battlefield in the high-stakes redistricting showdown between President Donald Trump and Republicans versus Democrats to shape the midterm landscape in the fight for the House majority. The faceoff over redistricting in Utah, a state Trump carried by nearly 22 percentage points in last year's presidential election, was triggered by a lawsuit by the League of Women Voters of Utah and Mormon Women for Ethical Government, which prompted Gibson to throw out the state's current congressional map. NEWSOM TAKES VICTORY LAP AFTER LANDSLIDE REDISTRICTING VICTORY IN CALIFORNIA Gibson's move required state lawmakers to draw a new map, which the legislature approved last month. The judge had ordered lawmakers to draw a map in compliance with a 2018 ballot measure approved by Utah voters that reformed redistricting standards, in order to prevent the drawing of districts to favor a political party, which is a practice known as gerrymandering. Gibson rejected the Republican lawmakers' map and instead ruled in favor of one of two presented by the plaintiffs. It keeps nearly all of heavily populated Salt Lake County in one congressional district. The current congressional map divides the Democratic-dominated county among all four of the state's districts. The judge had said she would rule by Monday, which was the day Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson said any new congressional map must be in place to be used in next year's elections. Democrats have not controlled a congressional seat in Utah…