A Utah judge on Monday chose a new electoral map created by the League of Women Voters of Utah and Mormon Women for Ethical Government over one drawn by Republicans, creating a Democrat-leaning district where none existed before.

District Judge Dianna Gibson threw out the Republican map, which she said was too gerrymandered, and solicited replacements from both Republicans and the women's organizations who had sued over the issue.

The new map keeps liberal Salt Lake County almost entirely within one district, as opposed to the Republican map which broke it up among the four districts.

Utah's four House seats had been reliable ones for Republicans, but Gibson ruled that the existing map “unduly favors Republicans and disfavors Democrats.”

Instant blowback

Monday was considered the deadline for a map to be in place that could be used in the 2026 election, due to the time needed to print materials and prepare ballots.

Gibson made her choice just before midnight on Monday, barely meeting the deadline.

Republicans responded by saying they do not believe she has the authority to choose a map that was not approved by the legislature.

State Rep. Matt MacPherson called the ruling a “gross abuse of power” and is lobbying to impeach Gibson for it.

In a state that has been as heavily Republican as Utah, impeachment may not be out of the question.

Larger implications

The issue has a lot of significance because of how razor-thin Republicans' margin is in the House.

Democrats only need to flip three House seats to retake the House majority, which could be very bad for President Donald Trump (and the country as a whole).

The party in power typically loses seats in the midterms, so it will already be difficult for Republicans to keep the majority in 2026.

To add to that difficulty, Californians approved Proposition 50 a few weeks ago; a measure which will allow the Democrat majority there to further gerrymander the huge state's electoral map.

Democrats could gain as many as 19 seats from the effort, and it would be difficult to overcome such a move. Texas has similar plans in the other direction, however, so it could be a moot point that would make a Utah flip all the more significant.