SALT LAKE CITY — President Donald Trump has entered the fight over Utah's congressional maps and redistricting, posting a message on social media Friday in support of the effort to repeal Proposition 4, the bipartisan anti-gerrymandering law previously passed by voters.
"The Great State of Utah, a place I love and WON BIG in 2016, 2020, and 2024, sent four terrific Republicans to Congress, and we want to keep it that way!" Trump posted to his Truth Social site on Friday afternoon.
The president called the move to repeal Proposition 4 a "very important effort."
Trump's support comes as opponents of the law, which passed in 2018, attempt to gather the 140,000 signatures needed to place a repeal question on the November ballot. On Friday, Utah Political Watch said the move to gather signatures had "slowed significantly," with organizers having collected just under 40 percent of the signatures needed.
Last year, Judge Dianna Gibson rejected the congressional map proposed by Utah Republican legislators, instead choosing a map that would create a district that could favor a Democratic candidate. Gibson's decision set off a firestorm, with some GOP leaders calling for her impeachment and putting into motion the plans to repeal Proposition 4.
"Utahns deserve Maps drawn by those they elect, not Rogue Judges or Leftwing Activists who never faced the Voters," the president wrote.
Since taking office for his second term, Trump has prodded state legislatures around the country to modify their redistricting maps in hopes of boosting GOP chances of keeping both the House and Senate in the upcoming midterm elections.
"This is desperation - the same strong-arm playbook, trying to intimidate voters instead of facing the truth," said Utah Democratic Party chair Brian King on the post. "Donald Trump and his Utah Republican backers are desperate because they're finally starting to come to terms with how unpopular their gerrymandering scam actually is."
