2023 Utah's 2nd congressional district special election

2023 Utah's 2nd congressional district special election

← 2022 November 21, 2023 2024 →

Utah's 2nd congressional district
 
Nominee Celeste Maloy Kathleen Riebe
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 89,866 52,949
Percentage 57.1% 33.6%

County results
Maloy:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Riebe:      60-70%

U.S. Representative before election

Chris Stewart
Republican

Elected U.S. Representative

Celeste Maloy
Republican

The 2023 Utah's 2nd congressional district special election was held on November 21, 2023 to choose a new member of the U.S. House of Representatives. The seat became vacant following Republican representative Chris Stewart's resignation on September 15, 2023, due to his wife's ongoing health issues.[1]

On June 7, 2023, Utah governor Spencer Cox declared that the special election would be held on November 21, 2023, with the primary being held on September 5, 2023.[2] This was the first congressional special election in Utah since the 2017 election in the 3rd district following the resignation of Jason Chaffetz, and only the second since 1930.[3]

Celeste Maloy, Stewart's legal counsel, won the Republican convention. Her victory was considered an upset, as former Utah House Speaker Greg Hughes led every round of voting except for the final.[4] Two other candidates, former Republican National Committee member Bruce Hough and former state representative Becky Edwards, qualified for the Republican primary via petition.[5] Some Republicans filed a lawsuit to remove Maloy from the ballot after it was revealed that her Utah voter registration was inactive, as she had moved to Virginia while working for Stewart; however, the lawsuit was rejected.[6]

Democrats nominated state senator Kathleen Riebe.[7] The 2nd district is considered a safe Republican seat, with a Cook PVI of R+11. Stewart was re-elected with 59.7% of the vote in 2022.[8] Donald Trump won the district with 56.7% of the vote in the 2020 presidential election.[9]

  1. ^ Talbot, Haley; Wright, David; Zanona, Melanie (May 31, 2023). "Utah Republican Chris Stewart to resign from Congress". CNN. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  2. ^ Mentz, Sam (June 7, 2023). "Utah to hold election for retiring congressman's seat in November". ABC News. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
  3. ^ Schott, Bryan (May 30, 2023). "What happens to U.S. Rep. Chris Stewart's seat after he resigns from Congress?". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  4. ^ Schott, Bryan (June 24, 2023). "Celeste Maloy wins Utah Republicans' nomination for special congressional election". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference qualified was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Jennings, Aubree (July 31, 2023). "Lawsuit against Utah District 2 Celeste Maloy denied". ABC 4. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference riebe was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Schott, Bryan (May 30, 2023). "Utah's Rep. Chris Stewart plans to step down from the U.S. House, sources say". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
  9. ^ "Daily Kos Elections' 2020 presidential results by congressional district, for new and old districts". Daily Kos. September 29, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2023.

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