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Utah redistricting: Salt Lake City split shapes congressional maps
Utah now has three competing congressional maps on the table after a judge tossed the old one in August—a choice that could lock in GOP control statewide or carve out a solid blue seat along the Wasatch Front.
The Legislature advanced “Option C” in a Monday special session. Republicans favor it because it gives the GOP the best shot at holding all four U.S. House seats.
Shortly after lawmakers approved their map, the plaintiffs in the gerrymandering case submitted two alternatives to the court. Both would disrupt the GOP hegemony in Utah's congressional delegation, but in different ways.
Plaintiffs’ Map 1 revives the so‑called “donut” approach: a compact district anchored in Salt Lake County’s urban core, with three outer districts encircling it.
Precinct-level election data from Redistricter shows the urban core seat going for Democrats Joe Biden and Kamala Harris over Republican Donald Trump by more than 20 points in both 2020 and 2024, while the three outer seats go to Trump by 28+ in both cycles.
Plaintiffs’ Map 2 looks a lot like Option C—except for one crucial difference. Option C slices Salt Lake City away from the rest of the urban core and stretches that district across the southeastern part of the state.
Map 2 keeps Salt Lake City with South Salt Lake and West Valley City. That single decision flips the district’s behavior.
Close up showing the division of Salt Lake City in the Utah Legislature's congressional map proposal and the map from the plaintiffs. (Screengrab from Dave's Redistricting)
Under Option C, the Salt Lake City district ekes out a slight Republican edge. The district would have broken toward Trump by 2.5% or less in both 2020 and 2024.
Under Map 2, keeping the urban core intact yields a Biden-Harris advantage of roughly 13–16 points in both cycles—comfortably Democratic.
Chopping Salt Lake City away from adjoining urban areas dilutes Democratic votes just enough to tilt the seat red on paper.