Utah state legislature approves new congressional map that creates two competitive seats

Both chambers of Utah's state legislature on Monday approved a new congressional map that will be used in the 2026 midterms next year if the state's Republican Gov. Spencer Cox signs it.

The new map comes after U.S. District Court Judge Dianna Gibson ruled in August that the current map needs to be redrawn because state lawmakers ignored safeguards voters put in place to ensure districts aren’t gerrymandered. The old map divided the Democratic Salt Lake County into the state's four districts, which diluted Democratic influence.

The new map features two new districts that are now competitive for Democratic pickups, according to Politico. The two seats still favor Republicans but give Democratic candidates a fighting chance. 

One of the new districts only went to President Donald Trump last year by two percentage points, and the other by six. 

State Democrats have criticized the new map as not going far enough in their direction. 

“It is shameful that Republicans in the legislature are once again trying to cheat Utah voters,” John Bisognano, president of the National Democratic Redistricting Commission, told Politico. “[The map] does not meet the criteria established in the independent redistricting reforms that voters passed.”

Whether the map does go far enough will ultimately be up to Gibson, because the map will still need judicial approval to take effect on top of Cox's signature.

The red state's new map comes as redistricting feuds dominate state politics ahead of the midterms. The feud picked up when Texas debated its map, which it adopted in August and potentially gives Republicans five more seats in Congress. California then advanced an effort to redo its map to offset the Republican advances in Texas.

Missouri also passed its own redistricting map last month, which potentially creates another Republican seat in the House.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.