The Utah legislature is set to approve a congressional map that could create as many as two pickup opportunities for Democrats in a rare win in the redistricting wars.
Utah’s congressional map currently has four solid GOP districts. But the Beehive State is required by a court to implement a new map that follows certain anti-gerrymandering criteria that citizens enshrined into law via ballot initiative.
The GOP-controlled legislature is currently considering a half dozen redistricting proposals and it is likely to select Option C, according to people familiar with the plans.
That map creates two deep-red districts in the northern and the southwestern portions of the state. Salt Lake County is split between the 2nd and the 3rd Districts. That’s where Democrats see opportunity.
President Donald Trump would have carried the 2nd District, which spans the western half of Salt Lake County to the Nevada border, by roughly seven points in 2024. That’s tough for Democrats, but not impossible.
The 3rd District, which spans from the eastern half of Salt Lake County down to the southeastern border of the state, would be even more competitive. Trump would have won it by roughly two points last November.
Former Rep. Ben McAdams (D-Utah) is seriously considering another run, people with knowledge of his plans told us. McAdams won a GOP-leaning district in Trump’s first midterm in 2018 but then lost in 2020 to now-Rep. Burgess Owens. As a former Salt Lake County mayor, McAdams would be a formidable recruit in either district.
The potential map could make some of Utah’s incumbents uncomfortable. Based on their current districts and homes, GOP Reps. Blake Moore and Celeste Maloy would be natural fits for the two deep red seats. That could leave Owens and freshman Rep. Mike Kennedy with one very competitive seat and one potentially competitive seat.
Of course, none of this is final. The Utah legislature may change course and go with a different map when it selects one on Oct. 6. The judge will have to make the final decision and she could reject whatever the legislature proposes. Republicans could try to stall with legal challenges and kick this process into 2028.
But Democrats are searching for any chance to cancel out some of the Republicans’ nationwide redistricting push. Right now, Utah is quickly emerging as their strongest opportunity to get a more favorable congressional map in place for the midterms.
Trial in Texas. A federal three-judge panel will begin hearing a challenge Wednesday to the congressional map that Texas’ Republicans passed this summer. The court will rule on whether the map can be used in 2026 or if it is a racial gerrymander and thus unconstitutional. This is one of Democrats’ last lines of defense.
