'An attack from the left!' Utah Republicans seethe as judge opens 'opportunity' for Dems

Utah Republicans are in disarray after a federal judge ruled this week that the state must redraw its congressional district map, and in a manner that is leaving some Democrats hopeful that the party can oust a sitting Republican from their seat.

On Tuesday, District Court Judge Dianna Gibson declared the state’s current congressional district map unlawful, and ordered the state legislature to draw a new one ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, and to use an independent commission to prevent gerrymandering.

Now, Democrats are looking to take advantage of the new opportunity to take control of at least one of the state’s four congressional districts – currently all held by Republicans – leaving some GOP lawmakers furious.

“[The ruling is] an attack from the left!” said State Sen. Scott Sandall, a Republican who led the state’s recent redistricting process that Gibson just tossed out, speaking with Politico in an article published Friday. “[Gibson has] thrown redistricting into chaos, [and I’m] positive some kind of delay could be sought. That’s within the purview of the legislature to try to get a stay.”

President Donald Trump himself has raged over the ruling, calling the decision “absolutely unconstitutional” in a social media post on Wednesday, and accused Gibson of being a “radical left judge.”

“All Citizens of Utah should be outraged at their activist judiciary, which wants to take away our congressional advantage, and will do everything possible to do so,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. “This incredible state sent four great Republicans to Congress, and we want to keep it that way.”

Trump went on to urge Utah Republican lawmakers to “stay united” and fight the ruling, whereas Democrats in the state have been reinvigorated at the prospects of seizing a congressional seat in the deep red state, particularly amid Trump’s ongoing efforts to gerrymander states like Texas and Indiana to bolster the GOP’s numbers in Congress.

“This race has the potential of doing exactly the opposite of what you’re seeing in in Texas and California: to take partisan gerrymandering and partisan interests out of the election and get the power back to the voters,” said former Rep. Ben McAdams, the last Democratic member of Congress from Utah before he was ousted after the redrawing of the state’s districts in 2021, speaking with Politico.

“[This is] an opportunity, really, for the voters to choose the type of person they want to have represent them, instead of having it as a foregone conclusion.”