DENVER -- Parts of Adams, Arapahoe and Jefferson County will become the state's seventh congressional district.

Denver District Judge John Coughlin issued his ruling Friday morning that adopted a Democratic compromise to a Republican redistricting plan that Democrats said would give their congressional candidates a competitive chance in this year's election.

Coughlin's plan also increases the physical size of the fifth and sixth districts (map, left). Click for more detailed map.

Tom Downey, the attorney representing the House minority Democrats, said the map selected by Judge John Coughlin gives Republicans three safe seats, lets Democrats keep two safe seats and leaves the two remaining seats up for grabs.

Downey said the new seventh district is about one-third Republican, one-third Democrat and one-third independent.

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"We are very pleased the judge decided to have a representation that protects independents," Downey said.

Republicans had no immediate comment and left the courthouse quickly after getting their copies of the judge's decision.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Thiebaut, D-Pueblo, said he was disappointed that the new district was not centered in Pueblo, but he was satisfied with the map.

"The ultimate is we want to be sure we have a map that gives Democrats the ability to represent the interests of Coloradans in Washington," he said.

Senate President Pro Tem Ed Perlmutter, D-Golden, who lives in the new 7th District, said he would talk with his wife and children and business partners Friday and may set up an exploratory committee to study a congressional bid.

"We did a lot better than what was being offered to us by the House of Representatives," he said. "We had to stand our ground."

State Treasurer Mike Coffman, a Republican, said he was re-evaluating whether to run for Congress this year, and a spokesman for Republican Lt. Gov. Joe Rogers said Rogers was out of state and had not seen the map and could not comment. Both live outside the new 7th District.

Coughlin, who ruled in a lawsuit filed by Democrats, had set Friday as the deadline for the Legislature to reach a compromise on setting new congressional district boundaries. Lawmakers failed to agree on maps during a special session last October. This session, the House approved two redistricting proposals created by Republicans, but the Senate did not debate either of them.

Those bills will either be killed or be allowed to die without action in the Senate, said House Minority Leader Dan Grossman, D-Denver.

Grossman also said a lawsuit filed by Republicans in federal court will likely be dismissed because the judges in that case were waiting to see what Coughlin would do.

Four of the state's existing congressional seats are held by Republicans and two by Democrats.

The remapping debates are politically contentious because each party works to gain an advantage by drawing district boundaries that would favor its candidates.

Republicans wanted the new seventh district centered in Denver's southern suburbs. They believe they should have five districts with residents likely to vote for a GOP candidate.

Democrats wanted the district centered in Pueblo to represent rapid growth among Hispanics. They want at least two districts where voters are likely to vote for a Democratic candidate and a third that is competitive.