Celeste Maloy, who previously worked as a congressional staffer for longtime Utah Rep. Chris Stewart, won a three-way GOP primary during a special election to fill his seat following his resignation from office.
The Associated Press called the race in Utah’s 2nd Congressional District shortly before 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
“It’s exciting that we’re going to have somebody come out of this primary that represents rural and southern Utah,“ said Ms. Maloy. ”I think it’s time for that, and everybody’s ready for it.”
Looking ahead to the general elections, Ms. Maloy, a supporter of former President Donald Trump, promised to “build bridges” with Republicans. She has expressed her interest in serving on the House natural resources and armed services committees.
Ms. Maloy, who lives in Cedar City, received strong support from Utah’s rural voters, defeating former state lawmaker Becky Edwards and businessman Bruce Hough, the former chair of the Utah Republican Party, in a tight race.
Ms. Edwards, a critic of President Trump, conceded her defeat in the race, expressing gratitude to her supporters for their unwavering commitment and highlighting a campaign that had “engaged, inspired, and ignited passion.”
However, she did not make any mention of Ms. Maloy.
In May, the six-term GOP congressman revealed his decision to resign on Sept. 15 to care for his unwell wife. The district he serves covers northern Salt Lake City and much of western and southern Utah.
Mr. Stewart endorsed Ms. Maloy, who served as his chief legal counsel. She is expected to have a strong advantage when she competes against Democratic state Sen. Kathleen Riebe in the special general election on Nov. 21 in a district that traditionally leans toward the Republican Party.
Ms. Maloy’s lead surged ahead on Wednesday, having taken the advantage over Ms. Edwards in the early urban vote count on Tuesday.
Ms. Maloy, a native of southern Nevada, attributed the success of her campaign to its focus on rural areas. She noted that her message opposing “government overreach” struck a chord with rural voters.
“I did debates in the rural counties. I showed up and held events in the rural counties,” Ms. Maloy said. “We decided early on that our strategy was going to be to win the rural counties, and then get as much as we could in the more urban counties.”
She holds a bachelor’s degree in agriculture from Southern Utah University and has previous experience as a soil conservationist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
In June, the Republicans selected Ms. Maloy as their nominee at their convention, despite concerns about her eligibility due to a lack of recent voting in either the 2016 or 2020 presidential contests while residing in Virginia. Former Utah U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop also added his endorsement to the outgoing congressman’s.
This three-way primary served as a unique measure this year to gauge how Republican voters are reacting to the legal challenges facing President Trump. The primary race featured three Republican candidates with different views on the 45th president.
While all three GOP candidates in this special election emphasized small government and pro-business platforms, Ms. Edwards stood out by running on an anti-Trump platform in a Republican primary for the U.S. Senate in 2022. In contrast, Ms. Maloy and Mr. Hough, a Trump loyalist, criticized the indictments against the former president as politically motivated.
