A federal court has rejected a challenge from Utah Republicans seeking to overturn a judge-ordered congressional map that could open the door for Democrats to gain a seat in the state’s otherwise all-Republican delegation.

Utah currently sends four Republicans to the U.S. House of Representatives. However, the newly imposed map, ordered last November by a state judge, keeps most of Salt Lake County within a single district. The county includes Salt Lake City, a reliably Democratic stronghold that voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris over President Donald Trump by more than 10 percentage points.

The state judge ruled that the Utah Legislature violated anti-gerrymandering standards approved by voters in 2018 when it adopted a post-2020 census map that split Salt Lake County across four districts. The Legislature’s version had dispersed Democratic voters into multiple Republican-leaning districts.

Republican lawmakers, including Reps. Celeste Maloy and Burgess Owens, joined by local officials, argued that the judge lacked authority to impose a new map without legislative approval. The federal panel ruled that Republicans were unlikely to succeed on the merits and said the election calendar was too far advanced to intervene.

The filing period for congressional candidates opens March 9, with party caucuses set for March 17 and state conventions scheduled for April 25. In its decision, the court cited concerns about voter confusion and the proximity of the primary election as reasons not to disturb the current map.

Spencer Cox said he was not surprised by the ruling, describing the legal effort as a long shot but worth pursuing.

The redistricting battle is ongoing. A Republican-backed group has submitted signatures to place a measure on the November ballot that would repeal the independent redistricting commission and eliminate the state’s anti-gerrymandering provision.

President Trump weighed in last month, endorsing the repeal effort on Truth Social and arguing that elected lawmakers, not the judges, should control the map-drawing process.