By Aidan Mortensen | KOAL News | Photo courtesy of the Utah State Senate
A hotly anticipated verdict was released Monday night as Judge Dianna Gibson rejected a congressional map selected by the Utah state legislature, and instead selected a map drawn by a pair of voting-rights groups after ruling the legislature-selected map shows “a level of pro-Republican favoritism.”
“Map C fails in many ways to comply with Proposition 4. First, Map C was drawn with partisan political data on display. Map C does not abide by Proposition 4’s traditional redistricting criteria “to the greatest extent practicable.” Wrote Judge Gibson. “And, based on the evidence presented, the Court finds that Map C was drawn with the purpose to favor Republicans – a conclusion that follows from even S.B. 1011’s metric for partisan intent – and it unduly favors Republicans and disfavors Democrats.”
The new map marks a win for democrats in the redistricting arms race, creating a potential democratic stronghold among Utah’s congressional districts. According to data from Redistricter, Utah’s 1st Congressional District in the 2024 election was +23 for Kamala Harris.
In Castle Country, both Carbon and Emery counties fall into the redesigned 3rd Congressional District, which merges southern and eastern Utah into a single block encompassing parts of at least 18 counties. According to 2024 election data, this district held a +40.51 advantage for Donald Trump.
For Utah’s current congressional delegation, Rep. Blake Moore resides in the new Democratic-leaning 1st district but is expected to seek reelection in the new 2nd district. For current 3rd district Rep. Mike Kennedy, he now resides in the same district as current 2nd district Rep. Celeste Malloy. Rep. Burgess Owens is currently the only member of the congressional delegation not to be significantly impacted by the boundary change.
The ruling has drawn ire from Republican representatives, with Rep. Matt MacPherson (R-Salt Lake) going so far as to state that he has filed articles of impeachment against Gibson for a “gross abuse of power,” among other grievances.
I have opened a bill to file articles of impeachment against Judge Gibson for gross abuse of power, violating the separation of powers and failing to uphold her oath of office to the Utah Constitution.
— Matt MacPherson (@UtahVote4Matt) November 11, 2025
“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,” said Utah Republican Party chair Rob Axson in a statement. “This is not interpretation. It is the arrogance of a judge playing King from the bench.”
On the other end of the spectrum, Utah Democrats were giddy with the decision. In a joint statement from the House and Senate Minority Caucuses, the body states, “We, the Utah House and Senate Democrats, feel a deep sense of hope and relief following Judge Gibson’s decision to adopt the plaintiffs’ Map 1. This is a win for every Utahn. We took an oath to serve the people of Utah, and fair representation is the truest measure of that promise.”
Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, who presides over Utah elections, shared in a social media post,” Barring an appellate court ruling, we must begin without delay to ensure that everything is 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.”
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
Gov. Spencer Cox took the side of the legislature, sharing in a statement on X,” 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.”
The Governor added that he would ” fully support the Legislature appealing the Court’s decision.”
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. For this…
— Governor Cox (@GovCox) November 11, 2025
*Updated to reflect new comments from Gov. Spencer Cox.