- Rep. Blake Moore says it's up to states to stop "race to the bottom" on gerrymandering.
- He proposes governors agree on redistricting standards to prevent gerrymandering.
- Poll shows most voters view gerrymandering as a major problem.
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Rep. Blake Moore said he thinks it's up to the states to end a "race to the bottom" on gerrymandering as states across the country have raced to redraw lines to benefit their party ahead of this year's midterms.
The Republican congressman said he wants to help end "constant gerrymandering," but suggested the solution should come from an agreement between states, not from Congress.
"I think the American people are seeing how much of a race to the bottom that constant gerrymandering every two years will do to us, and I want to be a part of it not existing," he told the KSL and Deseret News editorial boards Monday.
His idea to end the tit for tat?
"I think all 50 governors in 2030 should get together and say: 'Enough's enough. We're all going to stick to some very basic standards in place,'" he said. "I think there's a way to come up in 2030, and there's an appetite for ... every state to stick to just some basic guidelines, would be my way."
The redistricting push began in earnest last summer when President Donald Trump encouraged Republicans in the Texas Legislature to redraw the state's congressional map to help the GOP in the midterms.
Democrats responded in California and other states, but the race to redraw reached a new level last month after the U.S. Supreme Court hollowed out a provision of the Voting Rights Act that had protected against racial discrimination in voting and representation. Several southern states have since moved to eliminate some majority-Black districts that could further help the GOP this November.
Rep. Celeste Maloy, R-Utah, dismissed a congressional solution to gerrymandering while speaking to the KSL and Deseret News editorial boards last week.
"I don't think Congress should tell states what they can and cannot do with redistricting," she said. "I think this is going to be up to states to decide what they are willing to do and if they're willing to put guardrails on themselves. If Congress tries to tell all of the states what the rules have to be, I think it causes not only a federalism problem, but it's also harder for Congress to change their minds later if we realize we're wrong."
Last year, Moore issued a statement saying he disliked Texas' plans to redraw maps outside of the typical redistricting cycle following each decennial census.
"It undermines established norms and gives blue states a glaring green light to do the same," he said last August. "Partisan gerrymandering is clearly done by both sides, but to allow this wildfire to spread mid-decade is a step too far."
All the ensuing fights over district boundaries have vindicated that point of view, the congressman said.
"Everything has played out the way that I highlighted that it would have," he said Monday. "And I think there's (a) more sensible way to go about it."
Moore, who is facing a primary challenge this year from state Rep. Karianne Lisonbee, was one of the early backers of Proposition 4 in Utah, which established an independent redistricting commission and standards for fair map-drawing. Lisonbee has turned that support into a campaign issue, channeling Republican anger over a court-adopted map that gives Democrats the advantage in one of the state's four congressional districts.
Moore criticized the judge's decision to adopt a new map, saying the courts should have sent it back to lawmakers to redraw after finding the Legislature didn't follow the redistricting standards. But he also pointed out an apparent double standard after many Republicans celebrated a Virginia Supreme Court ruling that rolled back the newly adopted map, which heavily favored Democrats in the commonwealth.
"What's ironic and even frustrating to me is all the Republicans supporting the courts for stepping in in Virginia," he said, even as many Republicans in Utah blasted the recent redistricting rulings that went against them.
A new Economist/YouGov poll released Tuesday found a vast majority of voters view gerrymandering as a problem, with nearly three-quarters of respondents saying it is a "major problem" and 19% saying it's a "minor problem." Nearly 90% of Democrats see gerrymandering as a major problem, compared to 57% of Republicans. About a quarter of Republicans view gerrymandering as a minor problem.
The poll also asked Americans whether they think it is justified to gerrymander in retaliation for other states doing it first, and 37% said yes, compared to 27% who said it was not justified. About 36% said they were not sure. Democrats were more likely to say retaliation is justified, 51%, compared to just 32% of Republicans.
