GOP-Led Congressional Redistricting Effort Scrapped By Judge, Approves Alternate Map Expected To Benefit Democrats

A Utah judge has tossed out a new congressional map drawn by Republican lawmakers, instead adopting an alternative map creating a district expected to lean Democratic in the 2026 midterm elections.

The ruling is a blow for Republicans trying to maintain the state’s all-GOP congressional delegation.

Judge Dianna Gibson ruled the map proposed by the Republican-led Legislature “unduly favors Republicans and disfavors Democrats,” the Associated Press noted.

A Utah judge just threw out the GOP’s redistricting map — and practically handed Democrats a safe blue seat.

Judge Dianna Gibson ruled that the Republicans’ map didn’t meet the state’s nonpartisan redistricting standards. pic.twitter.com/Fc4MpaMUVx

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) November 11, 2025

More from the Associated Press:

She had ordered lawmakers to draw a map that complies with standards established by voters to ensure districts don’t deliberately favor a party, a practice known as gerrymandering. If they failed, Gibson warned she may consider other maps submitted by plaintiffs in the lawsuit that led her to throw out Utah’s existing map.

Gibson ultimately selected a map drawn by plaintiffs, the League of Women Voters of Utah and Mormon Women for Ethical Government. It keeps Salt Lake County almost entirely within one district, instead of dividing the heavily Democratic population center among all four districts, as was the case previously.

Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, a Republican, said on the social media site X that an emergency appeal is likely, but the state nonetheless must begin implementing the new boundaries to ensure things are in place for candidate filing in January.

“The people of Utah deserve an orderly and fair election and we will do everything in our power to administer one,” she said Tuesday.

Henderson had said Monday was the last possible date to enact a new congressional map so county clerks would have enough time to prepare for candidate filing.

There will likely be an emergency appeal, but the process of finalizing new boundary details will take weeks of meticulous work on the part of state and county officials. Barring an appellate court ruling, we must begin without delay to ensure that everything is in place for… pic.twitter.com/R5wZjCmiNh

— Lt. Gov. Deidre M. Henderson (@LGHendersonUtah) November 11, 2025

“The Utah Constitution clearly states that it is the responsibility of the Legislature to divide the state into congressional districts. While I respect the Court’s role in our system, no judge, and certainly no advocacy group, can usurp that constitutional authority,” Republican Gov. Spencer Cox said in a statement, according to KSL.

“For this reason, I fully support the Legislature appealing the court’s decision,” he added.

Dems score huge redistricting victory in Utah, as judge overrules GOP legislature and orders a map w/ a new Harris +24 #UT01, guaranteeing Dems a one seat pickup. https://t.co/gtu8WbEr7s pic.twitter.com/rxacR3JQqL

— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) November 11, 2025

KSL shared:

In the 91-page decision, Gibson called the latest legislative map an “extreme partisan outlier” that illegally gave Republicans an advantage. The Republican-drawn plan split Salt Lake County, where most of the state’s Democrats reside, in half.

“Based on the evidence presented, the court finds that Map C was drawn with the purpose to favor Republicans,” she wrote.

She picked the plaintiffs’ “Map 1” option instead, writing that it showed “no sign of partisan favoritism” and better divides populations equally, with Midvale being the only municipality divided by the boundaries. The decision, she wrote, is based on language from Proposition 4 — an anti-gerrymandering initiative that Utahns approved in 2018 — and nonpartisan metrics that a University of Michigan electoral geography expert had testified during court proceedings.

The map leaves Salt Lake County mostly intact as the new District 1, while most parts south of Midvale fall into District 4, along with parts of Utah County and central Utah. District 2 would cover most areas north of Salt Lake County, while District 3 encompasses the rest of the state, including Provo and the Wasatch Back, as well as eastern and southern Utah.