New Mexico Judge Fred Van Soelen upheld the state’s congressional map after Republicans alleged the map was significantly gerrymandered.
The judge ruled that the map was created in a manner that weakened GOP voting power but said it did not meet the necessary legal standard of an “egregious” gerrymander, according to the Associated Press.
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“Because ‘entrenchment’ is the touchstone of an egregious partisan gerrymander which the New Mexico Constitution prohibits, the court finds that the congressional redistricting map enacted under Senate Bill 1 does not violate the plaintiff’s equal protection rights,” Van Soelen wrote in the order on Friday.
The maps were created by Democrats in the state legislature in 2021, with all three congressional districts having a net Democrat partisan voting index, according to the Cook Political Report.
The loss for the GOP in the legal battle means it will continue to be an uphill battle for the party to regain a congressional seat in the state. The state’s 2nd Congressional District is the most favorable for Republicans, and it has a Democrat +1 partisan voting index.
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Incumbent Republican Rep. Yvette Herrell narrowly lost to Democrat Gabe Vasquez in 2022, and the GOP has made the seat one of its chief targets in 2024 as it seeks to maintain its narrow majority in the House of Representatives.
The order by the state court can be appealed to the New Mexico Supreme Court. The lawsuit in New Mexico was one of several challenges against congressional maps used in 2022. Other states that have had their maps challenged include Alabama and North Carolina.
