Utah's political landscape was transformed overnight when Judge Dianna Gibson implemented a new congressional map that could dramatically change the state's representation in Washington. Host Bryan Schott breaks down the ruling, analyzes the political fallout, and explores what comes next.

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On this episode, we unpack Ben McAdams' likely run for Congress, the GOP’s referendum retreat on redistricting, and why two new “competitive” districts might actually be R+2 and R+6 by design. Plus: a wild lawsuit to overturn SB54 and oust elected officials from office, a trio of eyebrow-raising Utah County GOP resolutions, and could Sen. Mike Lee be eyeing the top spot at the Heritage Foundation?

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In this replay of our subscriber-only livestream from 11/03/2025, we walk through the Lyman-aligned federal lawsuit to overturn Utah election results by attacking SB 54’s signature-gathering path, Mike Lee’s latest outrage cycle over a non-story, fraud and domestic-incident allegations surrounding former Iron County GOP chair Blake Cozzens, the latest from Utah's redistricting lawsuit and the 2026 chessboard with Democrat Ben McAdams edging toward another run for Congress.

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This week in Utah politics: dark money, taxpayer funded PR campaign and a massive homeless campus.

• Mega “service campus” for the homeless near SLC airport: 16 acres, up to 1,300 beds, involuntary commitments, forced treatment. Civil liberties alarms vs. “we have to do something.” Cox does damage control via a friendly outlet, swatting Nazi comparisons.

• House PR machine on your dime: Speaker Schultz’s glossy videos produced by a paid outside firm (Northbound Strategy ~$6k/month, >$215k since ’23). Posted first to his personal accounts, then amplified by official channels. ROI? Shrug. Also: his video flirting with threats against the judge.

• Dark money creeps local: National Liberty Champions PAC drops into an Alpine school board race. The Mike Lee orbit—Thomas Datwyler (treasurer), Dan Hauser (L4 Consulting, lives in-district)—connects the dots. Same network fueled attacks in UT-2 primary via Constitutional Conservatives PAC.

• Ogden City Council shenanigans: Candidate takes ~$15k from “Taxpayers PAC,” blowing past $1,500 limits. Money trace: AZ Christian nationalist pastor/funder → PAC → candidate → consultant. The consultant? He set up the PAC routing the cash back to himself. Illegal overage likely returned.

• Conspiracy-to-policy pipeline: Gold-as-currency schemes pushed by fringe “experts,” and yes—another chemtrails bill incoming.

Heads up: Election Day is Tuesday. If your ballot’s still on the counter, fix that.

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Run for Something's Amanda Litman explains why Democrats must invest in red states now—or face permanent minority status after 2030 redistricting.

She argues that redistricting in 2030 is going to gut the already-narrow path to power for Democrats. California and New York will lose seats in Congress, while red states are gaining representation. Utah's fast-growing population means the state is in line to gain a fifth seat in the U.S. House of Representatives following the 2031 redistricting cycle.

Her organization is launching a five-year plan to build Democratic infrastructure in Republican strongholds like Utah, where the party's net favorability sits at a dismal negative 38 percent.

Litman says Democrats need to stop obsessing over swing states and start investing in places the party has written off for years.

Run for Something: RunForSomething.net

Find Amanda on social media: @AmandaLitman or @Amandalitm

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Utah Republican Party announced a dual strategy to combat court-ordered redistricting and repeal Prop 4.

Referendum on Option C Map (00:04:33)

• GOP launching statewide referendum to overturn legislature's newly passed congressional map
• Needs 134,000 signatures by November 15th
• Must hit signature targets in 15 of 29 Senate districts

Initiative to Repeal Prop 4 (00:09:05)

• Only needs 70,000 signatures to submit directly to legislature
• Would repeal 2018 voter-approved independent redistricting commission
• Gives lawmakers political cover since it comes from "the people"
• Legislature likely to pass with veto-proof majority

Timeline Crunch (00:30:47)

• Court must pick new map by November 10th
• Hearings scheduled October 23-24
• Additional hearing November 3rd on legislature's new redistricting law (SB 101)
• Multiple opportunities for delays through appeals

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On this episode:

• The judge in Utah's gerrymandering case stares down the clock.
• Incumbent pile-up: All the proposed congressional maps put at least two GOP incumbents in the same district.
• Registration math shows where Democrats might actually have a shot.

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Breaking down the three proposed replacement congressional maps in Utah that have been submitted to the court.

Plus, the legislative maneuvers Republicans used to fast-track a brand-new law that sets standards for evaluating those maps. Critics allege that those standards actually require the state to pass gerrymandered maps.

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Note: this is a recording of a livestream broadcast from 10/06/2025.

Utah Republicans are pushing for the Utah Legislature to adopt map "Option C" when they meet to vote on new congressional boundaries on Monday. The map is the most pro-Republican of the five proposals put forward by lawmakers.

Note: this is a recording of a livestream broadcast from 10/02/2025.

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The Utah Supreme Court denied the Utah Legislature's request for an emergency stay to keep the state's 2021 congressional maps, deemed illegal, in place.

If you needed any more proof why lawmakers want to keep control of drawing Utah's political maps, our analysis proves that all three of the maps produced by the independent commission in 2021 would have produced at least one strong Democratic district.

Republicans thought they had found a way to keep the current maps in place, but it turns out they forgot to do the reading.

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