As long as Utah’s tug-of-war over redistricting continues to play out, there will be one question that hangs over the midterm congressional races: Which map will be used in 2026?
Supermajority lawmakers have not been shy about their unhappiness with Utah Third District Judge Dianna Gibson’s ruling for a map that created a Salt Lake County-centric district. In order to give themselves time for an appeal, they loosened the requirements to run for Congress in a special session. But only for next year.
Those changes include lengthening the candidate filing window by approximately two months from January to March and lowering signature gathering requirements for the primary ballot.
The changes are meant to accommodate whichever map Utah ends up with for the midterms: Either the Legislature-drawn map from 2021, with four safe Republican districts that Gibson threw out (lawmakers have asked for this map more than once), or the new map that offers the Democratic Party a strong chance of picking up a congressional seat. If the new map stands, one of Utah’s current Republican representatives — Blake Moore, Celeste Maloy, Mike Kennedy or Burgess Owens — will likely be out of their seat come 2027.
While lowering the barrier of entry to run might sound nice on the surface, there could be some unintended consequences.
“It does remind us that the composition of the field of candidates has a lot to do with who wins an election in the end,” said Utah State University political science professor Damon Cann.
The winner of the primary could heavily depend on the ideological makeup of the field.
“If you have five people from one wing of the party splitting that wing of the party's votes, and one person who gathers all of the votes from their wing of the party, then it opens a path for victory of a candidate who may not necessarily be the best ideological fit for the district,” he said.
In short, the more candidates that jump in, the more factors like name recognition and popularity could influence who ultimately wins.
“If there are five, six, seven other people to choose from, then it becomes hard,” said University of Utah political science professor Matthew Burbank. “People will tend to opt for somebody that they know and recognize, because they don't want to spend a huge amount of time sorting out the differences between candidates.”
That effect won’t only be felt on the Democratic side in the 1st District. Both Cann and Burbank agree that lowering the barrier of entry for a congressional run could also turn GOP primaries in right-leaning districts on their head.
“I think what this does is it says to other Republicans who might be considering a run, ‘Hey, this is my opportunity,’” Burbank said. “This is my chance to run against somebody. I don't have to necessarily wait in line.”
Meanwhile, the list of candidates for the redrawn Democratic-leaning 1st Congressional District just keeps getting longer. The already crowded field includes former congressman Ben McAdams, state Sens. Kathleen Riebe and Nate Blouin, former state Sen. Derek Kitchen and political newcomer Luis Villarreal.
And as of Dec. 15, you can add Salt Lake City Councilor Eva Lopez Chavez to the list
A congressional run wasn’t on her radar until the redistricting decision. Even then, she said she was not convinced she was right for the job until a group of trusted confidants started to reach out.
“It finally was a very intimate conversation with a friend of mine who has mentored me over the years and said, ‘Do you think that the people that are running for this seat are going to represent you and your family?’” she said. “And I just kind of sat with it. I was like, to be honest, no.”
Lopez Chavez joined the city council in 2023 and, at 29, is the youngest elected official at city hall. She has worked in government relations and as executive director of the Salt Lake County Democratic Party. Outside of her council duties, she currently works as a project manager for a modular housing company.
She believes Utah Democrats need to take full advantage of a unique opportunity that might not last.
“I think the map is going to get challenged,” she said. “So I think we have two years to really have a bold voice in Utah that can represent not just this district but the state.”
Republican lawmakers have vowed to appeal the judge’s ruling that created the new map all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary. Additionally, there is an effort to get an initiative on the ballot to repeal the underlying law, known as Proposition 4, that triggered the mid-decade redistricting process in the first place.
“Very clearly, this is an opportunity for the west side [of Salt Lake City] and specifically working-class and Latino voters to speak out,” she said. “It's also an opportunity for young voters.”
Lopez Chavez plans to lean on her life experience as the daughter of Mexican immigrants on the campaign trail, a story, she said, that’s “much more common than people realize.” That doesn’t mean she plans on being a single-issue candidate.
“I'm not looking to be elected to just have a platform to be able to speak on issues,” she said. “I want to actually contribute to federal policy and making sure that I stand in the way of harmful policy.”
Lopez Chavez is not naive to the fact that she is entering a race with many well-known names, but she does think her unique background and experience in local government will matter.
“I'm not the only progressive voice,” she said. “What I do want to share is that this is a historic moment to show that Utah is unlike anywhere else in the nation. We're immigrant-friendly. We also care about our families and we care about stewarding our environment.”
