Voters in Utah will head to the polls on Tuesday for a special election to replace former Republican Rep. Chris Stewart, choosing between Stewart's Republican former staffer and the state's No. 2 Democrat.
Republican Celeste Maloy, former chief counsel to Stewart, and state Sen. Kathleen Riebe, minority whip for the Utah Senate, are campaigning to become the fifth woman to serve Utah's congressional delegation in state history and the first woman to do so since 2019.
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When Maloy or Riebe is sworn into Congress, it will bring the House back to full capacity at 435 members for the first time since former Democratic Rhode Island Rep. David Cicilline had his last day in the House on May 31. Stewart announced his retirement that same day, citing his wife's health as a reason for his resignation. The Utah Republican stepped down in September.
Here's what to know about the two candidates running to replace Stewart in Utah's 2nd Congressional District.
Celeste Maloy
Maloy worked for Stewart as his district's chief counsel from March 2019 to June 2023 in Washington, D.C., before entering the crowded Republican primary to replace Stewart.
She defeated former state Rep. Becky Edwards and businessman Bruce Hough to secure the GOP nomination with the help of rural voters. Stewart endorsed his former staffer in the primary, which gave her an edge.
Maloy campaigned on reining in "out of control" federal spending and securing the southern border, as well as making promises to protect anti-abortion values, religious freedoms, and the Second Amendment.
“I’ve been working for this district. I’ve been solving issues that people in this district have called their congressman about and asked for help,” Maloy said in an October debate, according to the Associated Press. “Congress is struggling right now. Things aren’t going smoothly, and we really need somebody to get into this state who knows how Congress works.”
She was under some scrutiny for being an inactive voter when she launched her 2023 campaign, as she did not cast a ballot in the 2020 or 2022 elections, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. However, Cook Political Report gives the district a partisan voting index of R+11.
Maloy has an advantage over Riebe in the heavily red 2nd Congressional District, where Stewart held the seat for six terms. She also dominated Riebe in fundraising, bringing in about $600,000 and spending more than three-quarters during the seven months leading up to Tuesday's election, per campaign finance records.
Jordan Giles, Maloy’s campaign spokesman, told the Hill that Maloy's “conservative message of fighting federal overreach and getting spending under control has connected with voters” and said he expects “we will see the fruits of those efforts on election night.”
Kathleen Riebe
Riebe ran uncontested in the Democratic primary after being the top vote-getter at the Democratic convention. Her odds at winning in the heavily red 2nd Congressional District are slim, but how well Democratic voters turn out and how close the race is will shed some light on how the district will fare in 2024.
The state senator ran her platform on her work as a teacher, promising to continue teaching five days a week while advocating labor unions, public education, and affordable housing.
“I am very in touch with my families across the state. I have been working to understand how our policies impact their home lives,” Riebe said in the October debate with Maloy.
Riebe brought in roughly $300,000 and spent 90%, according to the Federal Election Commission filings. Ben Anderson, a Utah Democrats spokesman, told the Hill that Democrats have been "motivated and inspired" by Riebe's "incredibly strong grassroots campaign" over the last five months.
“No matter the outcome” of Tuesday's election, the state party is confident the final results will reflect how Riebe’s messages have been “resonating strongly with voters of all political affiliations," Anderson added.
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Maloy or Riebe will become the first congresswoman to represent Utah since former Republican Rep. Mia Love, who served from 2015 to 2019. Love was also the state's first black congresswoman. The winner of Tuesday's election will join Utah's all-GOP delegation, with Reps. Blake Moore, John Curtis, and Burgess Owens in the House and Sens. Mitt Romney and Mike Lee in the Senate.
Polls in Utah will close at 10 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday.