New Utah voting districts that give Democrats an improved shot at winning a US House seat can be used in this year’s election, a federal court ruled Monday while turning aside a Republican request to block the new map.
The ruling marked the second setback in recent days for Republicans, who also lost an appeal at Utah’s state supreme court.
A Utah judge imposed the new districts last November after striking down the congressional districts that the Republican-led legislature had adopted after the 2020 census. The judge ruled that the legislature had circumvented anti-gerrymandering standards passed by voters.
The ruling thrust Utah into a national redistricting battle being waged among states ahead of the midterm elections. Donald Trump has pressed Republican-led states such as Texas, Missouri and North Carolina to redraw their districts to give the GOP an advantage in the November elections, prompting Democratic-led states such as California and Virginia to respond with their own redistricting plans.