Rep. Celeste Maloy secures first full term in Utah’s 2nd District
The Associated Press called Utah's 2nd District for Rep. Celeste Maloy in the early hours of Wednesday morning. This will be Maloy's first full term in office after she won a special election in 2023.
Maloy was ahead of her Democratic opponent, Nathaniel Woodward, by more than 25 percentage points with 63% of the votes counted. As of early Wednesday, vote totals showed Maloy with 59.8% of the vote, and Woodward with 32.9%.
"I want to thank the voters of UT-02 for the honor of representing you in Congress for a full term," Maloy said Tuesday. "I want to thank my family, friends and my campaign team for their hard work. I also want to thank my opponents Nathaniel Woodward, Cassie Easley and Tyler Murset for running and I hope we can find issues to work together on.
"We have serious work to do, and I'm optimistic that we will pull together as Americans and roll up our sleeves. I am full of love for this country and hope for our future."
Maloy has represented Utah's 2nd District since entering office one year ago after a special election victory to replace her previous boss, Rep. Chris Stewart. Originally from Hiko, Nevada, Maloy spent her career as a soil conservationist in Beaver and as a public lands attorney in Washington County before moving to Washington, D.C. She now represents an area that includes Washington and Beaver counties, as well as south Davis County, west Salt Lake City and most of western Utah.
Amid campaigning for five different elections in the span of less than 18 months, Maloy has utilized her experience in land management and as Stewart's former legal counsel to introduce multiple pieces of legislation, including bills to transfer federal lands to Utah, improve programs for women-owned businesses, streamline the federal permitting process and investigate pharmacy drug pricing.
In a televised debate hosted by the Utah Debate Commission, Woodward, an attorney from Price, argued he was more in touch with rural interests on energy, housing and health care. Woodward broke from Democratic messaging with his emphasis on maintaining coal production and opening up public lands to a massive new home ownership program.
What's next for Maloy?
During her short 12 months in the U.S. House of Representatives, Maloy has had to navigate difficult votes related to approving military aid to Ukraine, continuing government funding and reauthorizing government surveillance authorities. These issues were used as an explanation by Sen. Mike Lee for his decision to break with longtime personal precedent, and Utah political norms, by endorsing Maloy's GOP primary opponent, Colby Jenkins, shortly before the state party convention.
Lee campaigned heavily for Jenkins, securing endorsements and funding for him. However, after narrowly advancing from convention, Maloy received endorsements from top House leadership and former President Donald Trump and went on to win the Republican primary by the narrowest of margins. Following two lawsuits filed by Jenkins and a recount resulting in a lead of just 176 votes, Maloy was declared the GOP nominee.
In her special general election last year, Maloy beat Democratic candidate state Sen. Kathleen Riebe, D-Salt Lake City, by more than 20 percentage points.
