Congratulations for Maloy from Republicans and Democrats
Nov 21, 2023, 10:56 PM | Updated: Nov 28, 2023, 2:03 pm
Celeste Maloy talks with Gov. Spencer Cox at an election night party at the Utah Trucking Association in West Valley City on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023. Maloy is running against Democratic state Sen. Kathleen Riebe, D-Cottonwood Heights, in the special election to fill Rep. Chris Stewart’s seat in the 2nd Congressional District. Spenser Heaps, Deseret News
SALT LAKE CITY — Celeste Maloy has won the Utah special election to replace Rep. Chris Stewart in the state’s 2nd Congressional District. Nearly two hours after the polls closed on Tuesday night, the Republican candidate had nearly 76,400 votes. Her closest competitor, state senator Kathleen Riebe, had 44,595 votes.
In a statement sent to KSL, Riebe said she’d called to congratulate Maloy.
“I look forward to her advocacy on behalf of our state at the national level and the pressing issues of water, affordable housing, and sustainable growth that face all Utahns,” Riebe said in the statement.
Maloy focused on securing the U.S. border with Mexico during her campaign, as well as reducing federal spending and garnering more state control over Utah’s federal lands.
Democrats thanked their candidates
The Salt Lake County Democratic Party said that they were disappointed in the 2nd Congressional District outcome, but in a statement, they thanked their candidates for doing “difficult work that strengthens our democracy.”
In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), one of Maloy’s new colleagues, Rep. John Curtis, R-Utah, praised Maloy in particular for her breadth of knowledge about the issues facing rural Utahns.
I look forward to @CelesteMaloyUT taking the oath of office and getting to work for Utahns. #utpol pic.twitter.com/UEtI4NmxHQ
— John Curtis (@CurtisUT) November 22, 2023
Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah, also posted on X to congratulate Maloy, saying “the House is lucky to have a fighter like you in Washington.”
National Republicans also congratulated Maloy
And Republicans outside of Utah also congratulated Maloy, including National Republican Congressional Committee Chair, Rep. Richard Hudson.
“Utahns have spoken,” he said. “They want a strong conservative fighting to lower inflation and get our border crisis under control. That’s what Celeste will deliver as their Congresswoman.”
Only four other women have been elected by Utahns to serve in the House of Representatives. Democrats Reva Beck Bosone and Karen Shepherd who served in 1939 and 1993, respectively. And Republicans Enid Greene Mickelson and Mia Love, who served in 1994 and 2012 respectively.
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