Utah News Dispatch
Maloy holds on to narrow lead in GOP primary battle for U.S. House seat
Utah Republican Rep. Celeste Maloy greets supporters at a primary election watch party in West Valley City on Tuesday, June 25, 2024. (McKenzie Romero/Utah News Dispatch)
Rep. Celeste Maloy is holding on to a slim lead over challenger Colby Jenkins in Utah’s Republican primary race for the 2nd Congressional District.
According to the latest results in the state’s Republican primary released Wednesday afternoon, Maloy had 51.03% of the vote over Jenkins’ 48.97%. A number of the new votes come from Salt Lake County, the more populated and moderate portion of the district that stretches from the Wasatch Front to the state’s western and southern borders.
Salt Lake County is still tabulating ballots.
Maloy won the seat last November after her boss, former Rep. Chris Stewart, stepped down due to his wife’s illness. Within months she faced Utah’s GOP nominating convention where she secured 43% of delegates’ votes while 57% went to Jenkins, a combat veteran who was freshly minted with U.S. Sen. Mike Lee’s endorsement.
As the primary election approached, Maloy secured the endorsements of Trump and her fellow Utahns in the House.
Jenkins has blasted Maloy for her vote in support of a bipartisan spending package — also a gripe of Lee’s — saying she was surrendering the GOP’s slim House majority and advancing Democrats’ interests. Maloy has defended her vote as the most fiscally responsible option, calling careful compromise a key to maintaining bargaining power in Congress and promising she won’t bend on the issues most important to Utah.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday night before leaving to catch a late flight back to D.C. in time to vote on appropriations bills, Maloy shared her optimism about the race.
“There’s something wrong with someone who’s on a ballot and doesn’t feel a little bit nervous, but I’m pretty calm. I like the way they’re trending right now. I’ll just keep watching,” Maloy said.
In a post on X Wednesday morning, Jenkins said he would continue to watch results as the race, separated by a few thousand votes, was too close to call.
“I’ve enjoyed getting to know so many new Utahns from across the district during this campaign and I’m humbled by the strong support we received in such a short amount of time,” Jenkins said.
The winner of the Republican nomination will face Democrat Nathaniel Woodward, Constitution Party Candidate Cassie Easley, and unaffiliated candidate Tyler Murset in November.
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