PHILADELPHIA — A lawyer arguing a lawsuit aimed at forcing a do-over of Pennsylvania’s congressional map says a powerful politician on the other side was only trying to delay the case by calling for it to be moved from state to federal court, then withdrawing that request at the last minute.

The matter came to a head Thursday in a federal courthouse in Philadelphia, where a judge decided it would remain in a state court.

Republican state Senate President Pro Tempore Joseph Scarnati III requested the case be moved from state court to federal court, which is considering two other claims of improper gerrymandering in Pennsylvania. Scarnati is one of the defendants in the case, which was filed by 18 Democratic voters who claim the map was made unfairly to benefit Republicans.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs contend the case belongs in state court because its claims are based on the state constitution, unlike the other two cases that rely on the U.S. Constitution.

The matter is scheduled for a Dec. 11 trial before a state court. A pretrial hearing was scheduled for Thursday but scrapped because of the request to switch courts.

U.S. District Court Judge Michael Baylson said the case would stay in state court.