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Keith McCord ReportingUtah may not have to wait until the next census to pick up a fourth Congressional District Seat, it could happen as early as next year.
Here's the deal, a Virginia Congressman, Tom Davis, has introduced a bill to give Washington D.C. its first ever seat in the House of Representatives. D.C. is a Democratic stronghold, so a Democrat would get the position. So what do the Republicans get in return? A new district in the most Republican state in the nation.
It's not a done deal yet, but Representative Tom Davis says he has enough support from congressional colleagues to get a formal vote on his proposal. The idea of Utah benefiting from all this is welcome news to both Democrat and Republican leaders in Utah.
Wayne Holland, Chair, Utah Democrats: "Utah is going to get another congressional seat in 2011 anyway, but it would be great for all of Utah to have this happen sooner rather than later."
Joe Cannon, Chair, Utah Republican Party: "And you get an extra electoral vote, and it makes our stage marginally more important. And for us it increases by 25% our representation in the house."
In the current Utah Congressional map Republican Rob Bishop is in the First District; Democrat Jim Matheson represents the 2nd; and Republican Chris Cannon serves the 3rd.
One scenario, if congress passes the bill, is that Utah's 4th representative would probably serve the state in an at-large capacity. That would remain in effect until the next census, after which new political boundaries will be drawn.
And drawing those boundaries won't be easy. Democrats say the demographics of the state are changing and they hope the new boundaries are fair.
Wayne Holland, Chair, Utah Democrats: "We're having a tough time trying to figure out how the Republican party, to not at least assure one democratic seat and one seat that's fairly competitive, and one that's pretty Republican or maybe two competitive seats."
The new four district congressional map might have Washington County playing a major role because of the surge in population there.
But a lot still must happen in Washington yet.
Joe Cannon, Chair, Utah Republican Party: "This is far from a done deal. We all think it's good, and I think it could get done.. There's still the senate and there are constitutional issues."
The bill, if ultimately passed, would also contain language that would permanently change the number of representatives in the house, from 435 to 437.
