Utah Third District Court Judge Dianna Gibson, left, and the Utah state capitol building in Salt Lake City. (Utah State Courts; Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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 since the current map went into effect at the beginning of the decade.
"The DNC applauds the decision to choose a fair, impartial map that reflects the diversity and ideological makeup of the state. Utah Republicans gerrymandered the maps because they knew they were losing power in the state. Republicans doubled down when they chose to submit another gerrymandered map, but today, they were once again thwarted by impartial Courts," Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin argued in a statement.
And Martin vowed that "Democrats will continue to fight for fair maps in Utah, regardless of what Donald Trump and Utah Republicans try next."
TRUMP-BACKED REDISTRICTING PUSH TURNS MIDWESTERN STATE INTO NEXT POLITICAL BATTLEGROUND
Republicans, who have argued that Gibson does not have legal authority to enact a map not approved by the legislature, criticized the ruling.
"Judge Gibson has once again exceeded the constitutional authority granted to Utah's judiciary. After stretching the law to justify taking control of redistricting, she has now rejected Map C — the only option that respected the Legislature's constitutional role — and imposed a map of activists who are not accountable to Utahns," Utah Republican Party chair Robert Axson argued.
And Axson charged, "This is not interpretation. It is the arrogance of a judge playing King from the bench."
President Donald Trump points to a reporter in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, in Washington. (Alex Brandon/The Associated Press)
It's part of a broad effort by Trump's political team and the GOP to pad the party's razor-thin House majority to keep control of the chamber in the 2026 midterms, when the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats. Missouri, North Carolina, and Ohio have drawn new maps as part of the president's push.
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Trump is aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House when Democrats reclaimed the House majority in the 2018 midterm elections.
Illinois and Maryland, two blue states, and Virginia, where Democrats control the legislature, are moving towards redistricting or are seriously considering, as are the red states of Indiana, Kansas, and Florida.
Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/red-state-judge-chooses-new-congressional-map-fight-could-reshape-house-control