Utah lawmakers passed a redistricted congressional map on Monday following a court-ordered redrawing for the 2026 elections in August.
The redrawing, which gives Democrats a glimmer of hope in two likely more competitive districts, comes alongside a national redistricting battle between blue and red states. The push-and-pull was initially sparked by Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R-TX) aggressive redrawing of Texas’s congressional map at the behest of President Donald Trump. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) pushed back with California’s Proposition 50.
The map approved by the Utah legislature Monday afternoon, option C of the proposed redrawings, keeps the liberal capital of Salt Lake City intact, but divides the broader county into multiple districts.
The current Utah congressional map splits Salt Lake City. The other proposed maps either kept the prominent blue Salt Lake County in the red state more intact, likely favoring Democrats, or made it more divided, likely favoring Republicans.
Option C is the least competitive of the proposed maps, redistricting experts told the Associated Press. Democrats have been critical of the map, which is still expected to give an advantage to Republicans in all four districts. However, some are seeing a silver lining.
Democratic National Committee chairman Ken Martin said in a statement that the map “doesn’t pass the smell test,” but still landed on a positive note for Utah Democrats.
“This scheme will backfire. Utahns are furious that Republicans are trying to rig the rules, and Option C includes a prime pickup opportunity for Democrats,” Martin said.
Democrats would only be down by a 6-point margin to Republicans in district three of the redraw, and would only have a 10.7-point disadvantage in proposed district two, a Salt Lake Tribune analysis indicated. These two districts split Salt Lake County from east to west.
This is compared to the state’s current congressional map from 2021, which favors Republicans in all four districts by anywhere from 19 to 28 points, according to the same outlet, which pointed to a Princeton University gerrymandering study.
District Judge Dianna Gibson, who struck down the 2021 congressional map, still needs to approve the map before it is final.
Along with passing the map, the Utah legislature passed a bill on redistricting standards that amends Proposition 4, the law that came into play when Utah courts ruled the map needed to be redistricted. The court reinstated Proposition 4, which says congressional districts need to be drawn by an independent redistricting commission and cannot favor one party over the other, to rule that the 2021 map was drawn in violation of the proposition.
UTAH SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS NEW CONGRESSIONAL MAP BE DRAWN THIS MONTH
The approved amendments to Proposition 4 include three tests or analyses to review proposed congressional maps in the state, including a “partisan bias test” and “mean-median difference test.” Gov. Spencer Cox (R-UT) signed the act into law on Monday.
Voting rights groups who challenged the 2021 ballot said the move is an attempt by Republican lawmakers to “change the rules of the game,” according to the Associated Press.