{"id":2513411,"date":"2025-11-21T20:18:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-22T01:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/burgess-owens-speaks-on-utah-congressional-map\/"},"modified":"2025-11-21T20:19:38","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T01:19:38","slug":"burgess-owens-speaks-on-utah-congressional-map","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/burgess-owens-speaks-on-utah-congressional-map\/","title":{"rendered":"Burgess Owens speaks on Utah congressional map"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fburgess-owens-speaks-on-utah-congressional-map%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2513411&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Representative Burgess Owens (R-UT) has broken the silence among Utah&#8217;s congressional delegation regarding the state&#8217;s recently approved congressional map, wich was redrawn following a legal challenge by a coalition including the League of Women Voters of Utah and Mormon Women for Ethical Government. Utah Third District Judge Dianna Gibson approved the new map after rejecting the GOP-drawn 2021 plan on the grounds that it violated Utah&#8217;s Proposition 4, a 2018 anti-partisan gerrymandering ballot initiative.Owens criticized Judge Gibson&#8217;s ruling for overriding the authority of elected representatives and disrupting the balance of powers, accusing the judge of imposing an undesired outcome on the citizens of Utah. This comes as former Democratic Rep. Ben McAdams announced his campaign in the newly drawn First District, which overlaps part of Owens&#8217;s current district. Other Utah representatives, including Rep. Blake Moore, who <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >helped promote independant redistricting efforts<\/a>, have not yet publicly commented on the new map.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Burgess Owens speaks on Utah congressional map that &lsquo;betrayed the balance of powers&rsquo;<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2398508\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Rep. Burgess Owens (R-UT) broke the collective silence among the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/utah\/\">Utah<\/a> congressional delegation on Thursday regarding the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3882512\/utah-lawmakers-mixed-reaction-new-congressional-map\/\">state&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/maryland-approves-new-congressional-lines\/\" title=\"Maryland Approves New Congressional Lines\">latest congressional map<\/a><\/a>, which came out on Nov. 11.<\/p>\n<p>Utah is in the midst of a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/redistricting\/\">redistricting<\/a> battle brought on by the League of Women Voters of Utah, Mormon Women for Ethical Government, and Better Boundaries. This coalition came together to oppose the congressional map drawn in 2021 and created a new one that Utah Third District Judge Dianna Gibson <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3882270\/judge-rejects-gop-utah-redistricting-plan-creates-new-blue-district\/\">approved last week<\/a>. Until Thursday, all four congresspeople in the state had refused to comment on the matter, even though it affected all of their districts.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/3895391\/fbi-concludes-would-be-trump-assassin-thomas-crooks-acted-alone\/\">FBI concludes would-be Trump assassin Thomas Crooks acted alone<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3895504\/anti-israel-website-disappears-after-offering-bounty-israeli-academic-figures\/\">Anti-Israel website disappears after offering $100,000 to kill Israeli academic figures<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3895387\/trump-gives-zohran-mamdani-permission-call-him-fascist\/\">Trump gives Mamdani permission to call him &#8216;fascist&#8217; in Oval Office press conference<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Owens issued a statement after former Rep. Ben McAdams launched his campaign for the newly drawn First district, which would take from Owens&rsquo;s current Fourth district. McAdams was the last Democratic representative to win a seat in Utah in 2018, where he served for a single term in the state&rsquo;s Fourth Congressional District.<\/p>\n<p>Owens directed his comments in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BurgessOwens\/status\/1991537910747664776\">a letter to Gibson<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I write this letter with deep sorrow and unmistakable resolve. Sorrow, because it is painful to watch a Utah judge abandon the restraint, balance, and humility that our system depends upon,&rdquo; Owens wrote. &ldquo;Resolve, because the people of Utah deserve someone willing to speak plainly about what your actions have done to our representative government. You have acted as the architect of Utah&rsquo;s congressional map, using timing and authority to impose an outcome that was never chosen by the people.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Gibson ruled that Utah&rsquo;s Proposition 4 &mdash; a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/a-vandal-stole-his-pro-life-signs-this-clever-dad-tracked-him-down-and-had-a-conversation-about-abortion\/\" title=\"A Vandal Stole His Pro...Life Signs. This Clever Dad Tracked Him Down And Had A Conversation About Abortion\">state ballot initiative<\/a> that passed in 2018, which bans partisan gerrymandering &mdash; stands as &ldquo;the only valid law on redistricting,&rdquo; despite a 2020 law that repealed it. This 2020 law gave the independent redistricting commission a largely advisory role, but Gibson ruled that the law did not &ldquo;advance a compelling state interest.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Your rulings did not correct the system,&rdquo; Owens continued. &ldquo;They commandeered it. You took the mapmaking authority that belongs to the people&rsquo;s representatives and claimed it for the bench. You betrayed the balance of powers that protects Utah&rsquo;s citizens, and you bastardized the process that has ensured accountability in our representation for more than a century.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"zxx\" dir=\"ltr\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/oWuh7D90yg\">https:\/\/t.co\/oWuh7D90yg<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Burgess Owens (@BurgessOwens) <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BurgessOwens\/status\/1991537910747664776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 20, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The lack of comment is especially notable from Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT), who <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3500209\/republicans-redistricting-split-california-follows-texas-gerrymandering\/\">previously criticized<\/a> a redistricting effort in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/texas\/\">Texas<\/a>. Moore also served as co-chairman of Better Boundaries, the bipartisan coalition behind the 2018 proposition to establish an independent redistricting commission. The group included Republicans, Democrats, and independents.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3882512\/utah-lawmakers-mixed-reaction-new-congressional-map\/\"><strong>UTAH LAWMAKERS HAVE MIXED REACTION TO NEW CONGRESSIONAL MAP<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Moore&rsquo;s First District, which would become the Second District under the new map, is the least affected by the changes.<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> has reached out to Owens, Moore, and Reps. Celeste Maloy (R-UT) and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mike-kennedy\/\">Mike Kennedy<\/a> (R-UT) for comment.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Owens criticizes Utah map for &#8216;betraying balance of powers<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2631,"featured_media":2513412,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/AP22302004574412-scaled-e1763673921795.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[67516,58799,5894,16985,5764],"class_list":["post-2513411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-burgess-owens","tag-congressional-map","tag-politics","tag-redistricting","tag-utah"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/AP22302004574412-scaled-e1763673921795.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2513411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2631"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2513411"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2513411\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2513415,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2513411\/revisions\/2513415"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2513412"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2513411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2513411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2513411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}