SALT LAKE CITY — Rep. Blake Moore said he dislikes efforts by Texas lawmakers to redraw the state’s political boundaries to favor the GOP in next year’s midterms, saying it would erode norms and encourage Democrats to do the same.
“I do not agree with state efforts to redistrict mid-decade,” Moore, R-Utah, said in a statement to KSL.com. “It undermines established norms and gives blue states a glaring green light to do the same. Partisan gerrymandering is clearly done by both sides, but to allow this wildfire to spread mid-decade is a step too far.”
Moore, the vice chairman of the House Republican Conference, is one of the highest-ranking Republicans in government to speak against the gerrymandering, along with some blue state Republicans who fear their districts could be cut if Democrat-controlled states retaliate — as governors in California, Illinois and New York have floated.
Texas Democrats announced Sunday they would leave the state to deny Republicans a quorum needed to remake the state’s congressional districts, prompting GOP Gov. Greg Abbott to try to expel them from their seats. Texas Sen. John Cornyn said Thursday the FBI director approved his request to help state law enforcement locate the out-of-state Democrats.
President Donald Trump has celebrated the proposed maps, saying redistricting could help Republicans pick up five additional seats during the midterms to protect their narrow House majority.
Although Texas lawmakers have the power to change legislative districts, redistricting typically occurs after each census, and mid-decade changes are rare. Some Texas Democrats have accused Republicans of trying to tip the next elections in their favor, with one saying it amounted to “rigging” the next elections.
“‘Partisan gerrymandering’ is what Democrats call it when it happens in a red state,” Utah Sen. Mike Lee said on X. “When it happens in a blue state, Democrats tell us that ‘this is what democracy looks like.'”
In a separate post, Lee said that while racial gerrymandering is illegal, gerrymandering for partisan gain is not.
Several Utah House and Senate Democrats joined lawmakers from 38 other states outside the Massachusetts State House in Boston on Wednesday to express solidarity with Texas Democrats and oppose what they called “an extreme and undemocratic redistricting effort.”
“Voters across the country deserve fair, transparent and independent redistricting, not politically motivated gerrymanders,” said Utah House Minority Leader Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City. “The unprecedented mid-decade power grab currently happening in Texas is not only an affront to the communities who will be directly disenfranchised, but it’s a direct attack on a bedrock principle of our nation, the ability of people to choose their representatives.”
“It’s wrong for any president, of any party, to order states to slice up communities and disenfranchise millions for his own personal and political benefit,” added Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City.
Where does Utah’s redistricting lawsuit stand?
Several residents and groups, including the League of Women Voters of Utah and Mormon Women for Ethical Government, sued the state in 2022 after the Republican-controlled Legislature approved new congressional maps that split Salt Lake County four ways. The plaintiffs argued the “extreme partisan gerrymander” undermines voters’ rights to meaningfully participate in elections and have asked that an independent commission be allowed to redraw the maps.
The case has been working its way through the court for years, and prompted the Utah Supreme Court to rule that the Legislature overstepped by changing the citizens’ initiative that created the independent commission. But the issue could be decided relatively soon, after a state judge asked for additional arguments from both sides in April.
“The judge has indicated that it will be sooner, but we don’t know what sooner means,” Katherine Biele, the president of League of Women Voters of Utah, told KSL.com Thursday. “I think Texas is a good example of what we don’t want in redistricting. This is why the people of Utah voted for an independent redistricting commission — to take it out of the hands of partisan politics in Utah.”
“None of this means that the Democrats are going to end up having a majority. It doesn’t even mean that Democrats would have more seats than they have now,” she added. “What it means is that the people would have a voice.”
Spokeswomen for the Utah House and Senate declined to comment on the ongoing case.
Biele said she is optimistic that a ruling could pave the way for new congressional maps in Utah before next fall, but the window to have new maps ready in time could close relatively soon.
Although the 2026 midterms are more than 14 months away, the deadline to file as a candidate in Utah is Jan. 2, 2026. To avoid confusion about which maps are valid, any changes should be finalized no later than Nov. 1 of this year, Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson has argued in court filings.
Regardless of the outcome of the lawsuit in Utah, Biele said she’s discouraged to see congressional maps wielded so openly as a partisan weapon.
“We don’t want this to be a tit for tat,” she said. “We don’t want Democratic states to retaliate against red states. That doesn’t do anybody any good. What we want is for each state to realize that this should be something to give all of the people who are eligible to vote a chance at a voice.”
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
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