Celeste Maloy has since been declared the winner. Read more here – 9/6/23
Celeste Maloy has taken the lead in Utah’s Special Republican Primary to fill the vacant seat left by Representative Christ Stewart.
At the writing of this piece, Maloy is leading against her closest challenger, Becky Edwards, by 2%, or about 1,400 votes.
“I decided early on to have a rural strategy and make sure they felt heard, and seen, and represented, and I think it’s working,” Maloy told Deseret News reporters during her victory night party in Cedar City Utah.
From the onset, Edwards led the race initially as Salt Lake and Davis counties began reporting their results first. Edwards has led these counties by 40-60 points, while Maloy has had the advantage in Southern Utah, leading from about 40-50 points.
In Salt Lake City, Edwards celebrated with supporters and said as reported by Deseret News, “Thank you for being committed to a shared vision for taking a little bit of Utah to Washington D.C. … We’re really optimistic and so grateful tonight.”
According to the Utah Elections Results website all counties have completed counting ballots. It is predicted by the Salt Lake Tribune that 80% of the vote has been tallied.
This Republican primary season has been shrouded in controversy. With the unexpected announcement that Rep. Stewart would be resigning, Maloy winning at the Republican Convention and questions were raised about her voter registration, to finally Edwards and Bruce Hough using signatures to get on the ballot.
The winner of this race will go on to be the Republican nominee for the General election, which will be held on November 21 this year on account of the special election.
The Review will continue to update as this story develops. For more information on voting and registration, visit voter.utah.gov
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