Republican Celeste Maloy has won Utah’s 2nd Congressional District race to replace Rep. Chris Stewart (R-UT), who stepped down earlier this year.
Maloy previously served as Stewart’s chief legal counsel in Congress and is an attorney. She faced off against Democrat Kathleen Riebe, who is serving in her second term as the state Senate’s minority whip. Maloy will join Utah’s three other Republican U.S. House members and the two U.S. senators who are also Republicans.
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Maloy, who led Riebe by 8 points at the time the race was called on Tuesday night, campaigned on improving security on the U.S.-Mexico border, reining in what she calls “out of control” federal spending, protecting religious freedom, and giving Utah greater control of natural resources on its federal lands.
Maloy outraised her competitor, with almost $588,000 in contributions to Riebe’s $290,000. Maloy also had a 4-to-1 cash advantage over Riebe in the final weeks of the election. As of Nov. 1, Maloy had $119,525 in the bank compared to Riebe’s $29,672.
The race marks the first time since 1997 that a female candidate has held the 2nd District seat, which encompasses much of the western portion of the state, stretching from the outskirts of the Salt Lake City area down to St. George in the south.
Stewart resigned in September, citing his wife’s health as the reason for his early departure from the seat he’s held for 10 years. His vacancy decreased Republicans’ already-slim majority to just three seats, giving GOP leaders little room for error as they navigate important battles over government funding and aid for Israel and Ukraine.
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With the election of Stewart’s replacement, the total number of lawmakers in the House will be back at full capacity, with 222 Republicans and 213 Democrats in the lower chamber.
The only public poll in the race had found Maloy leading Riebe by 9 points among registered voters.
