State GOP-backed Celeste Maloy wins Utah House special primary

Former congressional staffer Celeste Maloy is projected to win the Republican nomination to succeed her former boss representing Utah’s 2nd Congressional District.

The Associated Press called the race shortly before 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Maloy previously worked as the chief legal counsel for Rep. Chris Stewart (R), who is resigning from his seat later this month because of his wife’s health issues. A special general election is scheduled for November. 

Maloy won the right to advance to the primary after winning a majority of delegates’ votes at the state GOP convention in June, but two other candidates made the ballot after collecting signatures from voters. 

She received endorsements from Stewart, former Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah) and the state Republican Party ahead of the convention. She faced some controversy in the race following the revelation that she was not a registered voter in Utah at the time she filed to run for the seat because she moved to Virginia in 2019 and did not vote in the 2020 and 2022 elections. 

But Maloy was able to overcome that with Stewart’s support and hold off challenges from businessman and former Republican National Committee representative Bruce Hough and former state Rep. Becky Edwards.