Utah will welcome Republican Celeste Maloy as the newest member of Congress, restoring the House to its full contingent of 435 members.
Maloy bested Democratic state Sen. Kathleen Riebe and several third-party candidates in Tuesday’s special election for Utah’s 2nd District, as reported by The Associated Press. This victory follows the departure of former GOP Rep. Chris Stewart earlier this year.
Maloy, a former congressional aide to Stewart, emerged victorious in September’s competitive primary, despite her relative obscurity among voters. Throughout her campaign, she relied on her grassroots connections in rural southern Utah and her experience in Washington.
Maloy’s triumph in the general election was somewhat expected, given the district’s composition. Covering parts of Democratic-leaning Salt Lake City and vast rural areas in the southern and western parts of the state, UT-02 heavily favored then-President Donald Trump, securing a double-digit victory for him in 2020.
During her campaign, Maloy focused on addressing inflation and government overreach, intentionally steering clear of controversial issues to avoid divisive rhetoric. “I hope Republicans learn that you can still win running on the issues,” she expressed in an interview with POLITICO prior to her win. “I think that’s a message that we should be using more nationally. We should be talking about core conservative values. The issues that divide Republicans shouldn’t be the center of all of our campaigns.”
Maloy overcame adversity when opponents attempted to remove her from the primary ballot upon discovering that she wasn’t registered to vote as a Republican in Utah when she filed to run for the seat.
Upon taking office, Maloy will become the first woman in Utah’s congressional delegation since 2019 and the fifth in its history.
