Challenge to NM congressional maps dropped 'at this time'

A Republican-led challenge to New Mexico’s congressional maps appears to be over.

Ash Soular, spokeswoman for the state GOP, wrote in an email Wednesday that the party has no plans to pursue a rehearing “at this time” of the state Supreme Court’s recent ruling upholding the districts.

That means the case, which has been playing out in the state courts since after the new maps were approved by lawmakers in 2021, ends in a victory for Democrats and the current lines will remain in place.

In late November the state Supreme Court affirmed a lower court ruling in which a judge found that, while Democratic lawmakers had tried to dilute Republican voting power in the 2nd Congressional District, their efforts did not go so far as to violate state constitutional protections.

The state GOP had been challenging the maps as an illegal gerrymander. However, the state Supreme Court ruled in late November that 9th Judicial District Judge Fred Van Soelen’s ruling upholding the maps was “supported by substantial evidence” and was not the result of any “legal error.”

The 2nd Congressional District was reshaped to include portions of Albuquerque, adding about 40,000 Democratic voters. Some heavily Republican communities in southeastern New Mexico, such as Hobbs, were then shifted from the 2nd District to Northern New Mexico’s 3rd District, which already had a comfortable Democratic majority.

After the lines were redrawn, U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez, a Democrat from Las Cruces, beat Republican Yvette Herrell the 2022 race for the 2nd Congressional District seat by about 1,300 votes. With Herrell’s defeat, New Mexico now has an entirely Democratic congressional delegation. Herrell has said she plans to run again in 2024.

States generally redraw their legislative and congressional district lines every 10 years after the U.S. census. The process, which can determine which political party will hold power at the state and federal levels, often ends up in court.

The state GOP had 15 days from the date the state Supreme Court issued its ruling on Nov. 27 to request a rehearing, and that 15 days is up.

It’s unlikely the plaintiffs can pursue any other legal avenues, such as a federal challenge — the U.S. Supreme Court essentially ruled in 2019 federal courts have no jurisdiction over state legislatures’ redistricting processes.