New Mexico Republicans say they will appeal a state judge’s ruling that knocked down their challenge of congressional redistricting the GOP charges undermines Republican voting strength in the southern part of the state.
In a ruling made public on Friday, District Judge Fred T. Van Soelen conceded that the redistricting plan devised by Democratic lawmakers in 2021 substantially diluted the Republican vote in Congressional District 2 in southern New Mexico.
But the judge denied the New Mexico Republican Party’s challenge on the grounds he did not find that the “vote dilution rises to the level of egregious gerrymandering.”