by Melissa O’Rourke
A Utah judge on Monday struck down a GOP-drawn map that would have locked in Republican control of all four congressional districts, giving Democrats a shot at a House seat in the deep-red state.
District Judge Dianna Gibson, appointed by former Republican Gov. Gary Herbert, ruled that the GOP’s new map “fails to abide by and conform with the requirements” of a 2018 ballot measure that created a nonpartisan redistricting standard in the state. Gibson instead selected a Democrat-backed proposal that consolidates much of Salt Lake City into a single, left-leaning district.
The new map could open a path for Democrats to reclaim a congressional seat in Utah for the first time since 2021. It marks the latest development in a national redistricting fight, as both parties vie for additional congressional seats ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Utah voters approved a ballot initiative in 2018 that created an independent redistricting body, but the state Legislature passed S.B. 200 in 2020, limiting the commission’s role to an advisory capacity, according to the Utah News Dispatch. When the 2020 census data arrived, lawmakers ignored the commission’s proposal and drew their own map, the outlet reported.
Gibson (pictured above) ruled in August that the map was unconstitutional and ordered the Legislature to redraw the boundaries. On Monday, the judge ultimately adopted a map drawn by the plaintiffs — the League of Women Voters of Utah and Mormon Women for Ethical Government — that keeps Salt Lake County largely in one district rather than dividing it into four.
The Utah state House and Senate Democrats hailed the decision as a “win for every Utahn,” while Republican leaders blasted the ruling as judicial overreach, arguing the judge has no authority to impose a map not approved by the Legislature.
State Rep. Matt MacPherson called Gibson’s move a “gross abuse of power” and said he’s proposing a bill to pursue her impeachment.
The decision disrupts GOP plans for a clean sweep in a deep-red state, even as Republicans push mid-decade redistricting elsewhere as part of a national effort, encouraged by President Donald Trump, to strengthen Republican control of the House ahead of 2026.
Republican-led legislatures in Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina have each redrawn their maps, creating a combined seven additional GOP-leaning seats. In Texas’ map, an extra five seats would favor Republicans. In Missouri and North Carolina, their new maps favored Republicans by an additional seat.
Currently, Texas’s and Missouri’s new congressional maps are facing legal challenges.
In Indiana, Governor Mike Braun called a special session to consider a new congressional map. The special session started last week and could last into early December.
Another state, Kansas, had been considering a special session to draw a new congressional map, but House Speaker Dan Hawkins said last week he didn’t have enough votes to convene it.
Meanwhile, California voters handed Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom a major win on Nov. 4, approving his partisan gerrymandering proposal to create up to five more Democratic House seats ahead of the midterms. In Virginia, Democrats convened a special session in late October to redraw congressional lines in hopes of gaining as many as three seats next year, while eyeing further gains in states such as Maryland and Illinois.
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Melissa O’Rourke is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation. Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network and contributed to this story.
Just because these black-robed tyrants are appointed by Republicans doesn’t mean they don’t serve the evil opposition. She should indeed be impeached for imposing her will on an issue that is not for her to decide.