2nd District GOP nominee Maloy’s lead grows as she prepares for November election

Celeste Maloy solidified her Republican congressional primary win against Becky Edwards and Bruce Hough Thursday, one day after she was named the projected winner by The Associated Press.

Updated vote counts from Davis, Salt Lake and Washington Counties came in around 4:30 p.m. They showed a widening gap between Maloy and Edwards, from 2,431 votes to 4,569. As of Thursday evening, Maloy had captured 38.5% of the vote, Edwards 33.4% and Hough 28%.

Results from the 2nd Congressional District’s two most urban counties favored Edwards, while vote totals from the state’s rural and southern regions, particularly the more populous Washington County, leaned heavily towards Maloy.

This made the outcome all but inevitable when it was revealed Wednesday afternoon that despite what seemed like a close race between Edwards and Maloy at the time, there remained nearly 13,000 outstanding votes in Washington County compared with only a few thousand in Davis and Salt Lake Counties.

Maloy’s opponents likely recognized this all but ensured a victory for her in the Republican battle to replace Rep. Chris Stewart. On Wednesday evening, Edwards, a former state lawmaker and U.S. Senate candidate, and Hough, an entrepreneur and party committeeman, conceded the race to Maloy.

Maloy, a former Stewart staffer and GOP convention winner, will now advance as the GOP nominee to November’s general election where she will face off against the Democratic nominee, state Sen. Kathleen Riebe, as well as nominees from Utah’s other registered parties.

The news was received with warm reactions from national, local and state Republican leaders.

“Congratulations (Celeste Maloy) on your hard-fought primary win! Looking forward to supporting you in November and working together to advance Utah’s priorities in Washington,” Sen. Mitt Romney said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-NY, also extended her congratulations.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said Maloy was “a dedicated and brilliant public servant and will make an incredible member of congress.”

“She knows this district better than anyone and will make Utah proud. I couldn’t be more excited for her (and us),” Cox said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

During a monthly press conference in August, Cox revealed his preference for Maloy, though he didn’t endorse her. He said it was important “to have some representation off the Wasatch Front once in a while.” Maloy graduated from Southern Utah University and spent the first two decades of her career in southern Utah.

Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes posted a lengthier statement, recognizing the work Maloy did as a summer extern in his office in 2013 while she was attending law school at Brigham Young University.

“Celeste is tireless in her advocacy for our state, whether on public lands, water, federalism, or our economy. I look forward to supporting her in the general and working with her as our next Congresswoman,” Reyes said.

The Salt Lake County Republican Party, which donated $2,000 to Maloy’s campaign, also praised her in a long statement.

“Celeste’s triumph is a testament to her unwavering dedication to our party’s principles and, more importantly, to the people of congressional district 2,” the statement reads. “Her tireless efforts to connect with the community, understand their concerns, and advocate for their needs have truly set her apart. Celeste embodies the values that our party holds dear, and her win is a clear reflection of her genuine commitment to serving the people.”

Maloy’s general election opponent, Riebe, who has served in the state Senate since 2019, took the opportunity to come out strongly against her competitor.

“I welcome Maloy officially to the race and look forward to her getting to know the district again after years away,” Riebe said in a statement Thursday morning, referring to the four years Maloy spent in Washington, D.C., working as Stewart’s chief legal counsel on 2nd District issues.

In her statement, Riebe points to Maloy’s support for national restrictions on abortion and Social Security reform as “divisive positions” and says Maloy is “out of step with Utah voters.” During her time in the state legislature, Riebe opposed measures to restrict access to abortion in the state of Utah.

Maloy, on the other hand, says her priority over the next few months is to “unite Republican voters so that we are going strong into the general.”

“It’s been a tough primary,” Maloy told the Deseret News Wednesday, moments after her primary win was declared. “And I want to make sure that all of the Republicans who backed someone else in this race know that I’m ready to welcome them with open arms. I want to represent them well and I want everybody to be pulling together going into the general.”