Republicans plan to appeal verdict to uphold maps in New Mexico gerrymandering lawsuit

Republicans on Wednesday appealed a district judge’s verdict last week in the GOP’s gerrymandering lawsuit against Democrats, which sought to overturn redrawn congressional districts, seeking a hearing before the New Mexico Supreme Court.

The redistricting process, which concluded in December 2021, was in response to population changes from the 2020 Census.

It notably split portions of Eddy and Lea counties – in the oil-rich, and deep-red southeast corner – out of the Second Congressional District, normally a Republican stronghold.

More: Judge finds gerrymandering in CD2 redraw but says maps can remain

This was why, the GOP contended, Democrat U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez was able to defeat incumbent Republican Yvette Herrell for the seat in the 2022 election, which was won by a razor-thin margin of 1,300 votes.

Vasquez declined to comment for this story, and Herrell did not return a request by the Carlsbad Current-Argus to comment on the outcome of the case.

Ninth Judicial District Judge Fred Van Soelen ruled Oct. 6 that the new maps did constitute some gerrymandering, but not to a level that was “egregious” and thus unconstitutional under New Mexico statutes.

He cited the closeness of the 2022 race in rendering the verdict, which came after a three-day bench trial held in Lea County District Court in Lovington.

The Republican Party of New Mexico filed a notice of appeal to the verdict in the New Mexico Court of Appeals Wednesday, which certified the appeal to the Supreme Court for review.

More: New Mexico gerrymandering trial concludes, judge has a week to rule on congressional maps

On Wednesday, New Mexico Sen. David Gallegos (R-41), who is listed as a plaintiff in the case, said he hoped to get a hearing before the New Mexico Supreme Court in the coming weeks and ahead of the next election for the Second District.

He pointed to Van Soelen’s admission that gerrymandering did occur, questioning the judge’s distinction that it did not happen to an “egregious” level.

More: GOP says Democrats diluted oilfield votes in first day of New Mexico gerrymandering trial

“I was very disappointed,” Gallegos said of the verdict. “My biggest thing was that the judge found gerrymandering did occur but not to an egregious extent. I’m hoping we’ll be able to get them (the Supreme Court) to look at it.”

Over the three days of the bench trial, Gallegos of Eunice and Rep. Jim Townsend (R-54) of Artesia both testified that Republicans were largely left out of the redistricting process which led to passage of an amended version of Senate Bill 1.

SB 1 added portions of the urban, left-leaning Albuquerque area to the Second District, and moved the northern areas of Lea and Eddy counties into the Third District where Democrats had a comfortable margin, plaintiff attorneys argued.

More: GOP, Democrats clash over election data in final day of New Mexico gerrymandering trial

They argued this constituting “cracking” areas of GOP majority, and “stacking” Democrat votes in their place, leading a predetermined victor for the party in the election.

“The judge found that the race between Vasquez and Herrell was close, but there was some skewing of the numbers,” Gallegos said. “How do you break the law, but not enough to matter? When you break the law, you break the law. We want to hold everyone accountable.”

Townsend also voiced disappointment in the ruling, arguing the new map was designed for “one-party rule.”

More: 'Gerrymandering' lawsuit against New Mexico Democrats delayed ahead of trial

“We know one thing is certain: the redistricting was done in a way that favored their candidate,” Townsend said. “Even with that done, it was still a competitive district. Had it been left alone, the GOP would have won.

“What they did was affect the redistricting process to predetermine the outcome of the election.”

Upon hearing the verdict, Republican Party Chairman Steve Pearce, himself a former congressman representing the Second District, said the ruling “struck at the heart of our Republic, the form of government that allows all beliefs to have a voice.”

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He pointed to text messages from Sen. Mimi Stewart (D-17) presented at trial as evidence, Pearce said, of the party’s intent to unfairly ensure its victory.

“Our legal team presented a clear case that the legislature intended to and, in fact, did egregiously gerrymander the congressional maps to shift the second district by 18 points in favor of Democrats,” Pearce said in a statement.

“The Republican Party of New Mexico believes the fight is too important to accept this setback without contest.”

The New Mexico Democratic Party called the lawsuit “bogus” and maintained that the redistricting process was bipartisan and led to a more competitive election.

“It is no surprise that the New Mexico Republican Party lost its bogus lawsuit attempting to throw out competitive, fairly-drawn maps,” read a statement from the party. ”In fact, these districts were intentionally crafted to be less partisan and more competitive than the previous ones.”

Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on X, formerly known as Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Republicans plan to appeal verdict in New Mexico gerrymandering case