2023_Utah's_2nd_congressional_district_special_election
2023 Utah's 2nd congressional district special election
Election following resignation of U.S. representative Chris Stewart
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]
For broader coverage of this topic, see Utah's 2nd congressional district.
Quick Facts Utah's 2nd congressional district, Nominee ...
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 County results Maloy: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Riebe: 60-70% | |||||||||||||||||
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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]
Candidates
Eleven candidates competed at the Republican convention on June 24. Celeste Maloy won, guaranteeing her a spot on the primary ballot.[10] Two candidates who lost at the convention, Becky Edwards and Bruce Hough, also qualified for the ballot by collecting signatures.[5]
Edwards's candidacy attracted attention due to her controversial stances; she voted for Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election, disagreed with the overturning of Roe v. Wade, supported the second impeachment of Donald Trump, and challenged U.S. Senator Mike Lee in his 2022 primary.[11]
Nominee
- Celeste Maloy, counsel for then-U.S. representative Chris Stewart[5]
Eliminated in primary
- Becky Edwards, former state representative from HD-20 (2009–2018) and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2022[5]
- Bruce Hough, former Republican National Committee member, former chair of the Utah Republican Party, and father of dancers Derek Hough and Julianne Hough[5]
Lost at convention
- Kathleen Anderson, communications director for the Utah Republican Party and candidate for Utah's 4th congressional district in 2020[12]
- Henry Eyring, Duke University professor and grandson of LDS Church Second Counselor Henry B. Eyring[13]
- Scott Hatfield, congressional staffer[13]
- Jordan Hess, former vice chair of the Utah Republican Party (endorsed Maloy)[13]
- Greg Hughes, former Speaker of the Utah House of Representatives (2015–2018) from HD-51 (2003–2018) and candidate for Governor of Utah in 2020[14]
Withdrew during convention
Withdrew before convention
Disqualified
- Remy Bubba Kush[12]
Declined
- Sheryl Allen, former state representative from HD-19 (1994–2011)[15]
- Gil Almquist, Washington County commissioner[15]
- Kathleen Anderson, communications director for the Utah Republican Party and candidate for Utah's 4th congressional district in 2020[13]
- Robert Axson, chair of the Utah Republican Party (2023–present)[15]
- Brad Bonham, entrepreneur[13]
- Walt Brooks, state representative from HD-75 (2016–present)[13]
- Derek Brown, former chair of the Utah Republican Party (2019–2021) and former state representative from HD-49 (2011–2014)[13]
- Daniel McCay, state senator from SD-18 (2019–present)[13][16]
- Kim Coleman, former state representative from HD-42 (2015–2021) and candidate for the 4th district in 2020[13]
- Ben Horsley, chief of staff for the Granite School District[13]
- Victor Iverson, chair of the Washington County Commission[15]
- Carson Jorgensen, former chair of the Utah Republican Party (2021–2023)[15]
- Mike Kennedy, state senator from SD-21 (2021–present) and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2018[13]
- Derek Miller, president of the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce[15]
- Aimee Winder Newton, Salt Lake County councilor from the 3rd district (2014–present) and candidate for Governor of Utah in 2020[16]
- Corey Norman, chief of staff to U.S. Representative John Curtis[17]
- Jason Perry, director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics[15]
- John Pike, former mayor of St. George[17]
- Sean Reyes, Utah Attorney General (2013–present)[15]
- Erin Rider, attorney, former staffer for then-U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch, and candidate for this district in 2022[13]
- Adam Snow, Washington County commissioner[13]
- Trent Staggs, mayor of Riverton and nominee for mayor of Salt Lake County in 2020 (running for U.S. Senate)[13]
- Bob Stevenson, Davis County commissioner and candidate for Utah's 1st congressional district in 2020[13]
- Todd Weiler, state senator from SD-08 (2012–present)[15]
- Thomas Wright, former chair of the Utah Republican Party and candidate for Governor of Utah in 2020[15]
Endorsements
Greg Hughes (lost at convention)
Celeste Maloy
- U.S. representatives
- Rob Bishop, UT-01 (2003-2021)[19]
- Chris Stewart, UT-02 (2013-2023)[20]
- Individuals
- Jordan Hess, former vice chair of the Utah Republican Party and candidate for this seat in 2023 (Eliminated at convention)[21]
- Scott Reber, realtor, former congressional staffer, and candidate for this seat in 2023 (Eliminated at convention)[22]
Bruce Hough
- Individuals
- Scott Hatfield, former candidate for this seat (Eliminated at convention)[23]
Fundraising
More information Campaign finance reports as of August 16, 2023, Candidate ...
| Campaign finance reports as of August 16, 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Raised | Spent | Cash on hand |
| Becky Edwards (R) | $678,975 [lower-alpha 1] | $450,629 | $228,346 |
| Bruce Hough (R) | $538,700 [lower-alpha 2] | $453,801 | $84,899 |
| Celeste Maloy (R) | $307,308 | $217,563 | $89,745 |
| Source: Federal Election Commission[24] | |||
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Polling
More information Poll source, Date(s) administered ...
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[lower-alpha 3] |
Margin of error |
Becky Edwards |
Bruce Hough |
Celeste Maloy |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dan Jones & Associates | August 7–14, 2023 | 471 (RV) | ± 4.51% | 32% | 11% | 9% | 47% |
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Pre-convention debate
More information No., Date ...
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Republican | Republican | Republican | Republican | Republican | Republican | Republican | Republican | Republican | Republican | Republican |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn |
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| Kathleen Anderson | Quin Denning | Becky Edwards | Henry Eyring | Scott Hatfield | Jordan Hess | Bill Hoster | Bruce Hough | Greg Hughes | Celeste Maloy | Scott Reber | |||||
| 1 | Jun. 20, 2023 | KTVX | Rob Axson Glen Mills |
YouTube (part 1) YouTube (part 2) |
P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P |
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Convention results
More information Republican convention results, Candidate ...
| Republican convention results[25] | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | First ballot | Second ballot | Third ballot | Fourth ballot | Fifth ballot | |||||
| Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | |
| Celeste Maloy | 178 | 24.1% | 199 | 27.0% | 210 | 28.6% | 244 | 33.2% | 380 | 52.1% |
| Greg Hughes | 211 | 28.5% | 240 | 32.6% | 259 | 35.2% | 300 | 40.9% | 349 | 47.9% |
| Jordan Hess | 149 | 20.1% | 163 | 22.1% | 169 | 23.0% | 155 | 21.1% | Eliminated | |
| Henry Eyring | 60 | 8.1% | 54 | 7.3% | 46 | 6.3% | 35 | 4.8% | Eliminated | |
| Bill Hoster | 47 | 6.4% | 33 | 4.5% | 30 | 4.1% | Withdrawn | |||
| Becky Edwards | 37 | 5.0% | 27 | 3.7% | 21 | 2.9% | Eliminated | |||
| Kathleen Anderson | 14 | 1.9% | 13 | 1.8% | Eliminated | |||||
| Bruce Hough | 14 | 1.9% | 8 | 1.1% | Eliminated | |||||
| Quin Denning | 13 | 1.8% | Withdrawn | |||||||
| Scott Reber | 13 | 1.8% | Withdrawn | |||||||
| Scott Hatfield | 4 | 0.5% | Eliminated | |||||||
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Post-convention debate
More information No., Date ...
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Republican | Republican | Republican |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn |
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| Becky Edwards | Bruce Hough | Celeste Maloy | |||||
| 1 | Aug. 15, 2023 | KSL-TV | YouTube | A | P | P | |
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Primary results
Maloy
- Maloy—70–80%
- Maloy—50–60%
- Maloy—40–50%
Edwards
- Edwards—50–60%
- Edwards—40–50%
Hough
- Hough—30–40%
Tie
- Three-way tie—30–40%
More information Party, Candidate ...
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Celeste Maloy | 36,288 | 38.8 | |
| Republican | Becky Edwards | 30,560 | 32.7 | |
| Republican | Bruce Hough | 26,562 | 28.4 | |
| Total votes | 93,410 | 100.0 | ||
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Candidates
Nominee
- Kathleen Riebe, state senator from SD-15 (2019–present)[7]
Lost in convention
Declined
- Ben McAdams, former U.S. representative from Utah's 4th congressional district (2019–2021)[13]
- Kael Weston, former U.S. State Department official, nominee for this district in 2020, and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2022[27]
- Nick Mitchell, inventor, small business owner, and nominee for this district in 2022[28][29]
Convention results
More information Democratic convention results, Candidate ...
| Democratic convention results[30] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | First ballot | |
| Votes | % | |
| Kathleen Riebe | 243 | 85.56% |
| Guy Warner | 36 | 12.67% |
| Archie Williams III | 5 | 1.76% |
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Fundraising
More information Campaign finance reports as of August 16, 2023, Candidate ...
| Campaign finance reports as of August 16, 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Raised | Spent | Cash on hand |
| Kathleen Riebe (D) | $94,451 | $48,548 | $45,902 |
| Source: Federal Election Commission[24] | |||
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United Utah Party
Nominee
- January Walker, cybersecurity professional and nominee for Utah's 4th congressional district in 2022[13]
Lost convention
- Stone Fonua, tax preparer and perennial candidate[31]
Convention results
More information United Utah convention results, Candidate ...
| United Utah convention results | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | First ballot | |
| January Walker | 81% | |
| Stone Fonua | 19% | |
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Libertarian Party
Nominee
- Bradley Garth Green, plumbing supply store owner and son of Cedar City mayor Garth Green[31][32]
Constitution Party
Nominee
Independents
Declared
- Joseph Buchman, college professor, former chair of the Utah Libertarian Party, and perennial candidate[31]
- Perry T. Myers[31]
Debate
More information No., Date ...
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Republican | Democratic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn |
||||||
| Celeste Maloy | Kathleen Riebe | |||||
| 1[33] | Oct. 26, 2023 | KUED Utah Debate Commission |
Mary Weaver | YouTube | P | P |
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Predictions
More information Source, Ranking ...
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[34] | Safe R | July 18, 2023 |
| Inside Elections[35] | Solid R | June 7, 2023 |
| DDHQ[36] | Safe R | September 4, 2023 |
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Polling
More information Poll source, Date(s) administered ...
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[lower-alpha 3] |
Margin of error |
Celeste Malloy (R) |
Kathleen Riebe (D) |
Brad Green (L) |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lighthouse Research | September 26 – October 6, 2023 | 528 (RV) | ± 4.3% | 43% | 34% | 6% | 8%[lower-alpha 4] | 9% |
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Results
More information Party, Candidate ...
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Celeste Maloy | 89,866 | 57.07 | −2.64 | |
| Democratic | Kathleen Riebe | 52,949 | 33.62 | −0.39 | |
| Libertarian | Bradley Green | 4,528 | 2.88 | N/A | |
| Constitution | Cassie Easley | 3,678 | 2.34 | −0.62 | |
| United Utah | January Walker | 2,856 | 1.81 | −1.51 | |
| Independent | Perry Myers | 2,276 | 1.45 | N/A | |
| Independent | Joseph Buchman | 1,281 | 0.81 | N/A | |
| Write-in | 39 | 0.02 | N/A | ||
| Total votes | 157,473 | 100.00 | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
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More information By county, County ...
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- Talbot, Haley; Wright, David; Zanona, Melanie (May 31, 2023). "Utah Republican Chris Stewart to resign from Congress". CNN. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
- Mentz, Sam (June 7, 2023). "Utah to hold election for retiring congressman's seat in November". ABC News. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
- 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.
- Schott, Bryan (June 24, 2023). "Celeste Maloy wins Utah Republicans' nomination for special congressional election". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
- Schott, Brian (July 12, 2023). "Three Republicans have qualified for Utah's special GOP primary election to replace Rep. Chris Stewart". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
- Jennings, Aubree (July 31, 2023). "Lawsuit against Utah District 2 Celeste Maloy denied". ABC 4. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
- Schott, Bryan (June 28, 2023). "Kathleen Riebe nominated by Utah Democrats for special congressional election". The Salt Lake Tribune.
- 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.
- "Daily Kos Elections' 2020 presidential results by congressional district, for new and old districts". Daily Kos. September 29, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
- "SPECIAL ELECTION CONVENTION FOR UTAH'S 2ND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT". Salt Lake County Republican Party. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
- Metzger, Bryan (September 4, 2023). "A GOP former state lawmaker who voted for Biden in 2020, was against overturning Roe v. Wade, and supported impeaching Trump could soon be headed to Congress". Business Insider. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
- Green, Bradley (June 9, 2023). "Who's in 2nd District race? Field is set for campaign to replace Rep. Chris Stewart". KSL News. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
- Schott, Bryan (June 8, 2023). "Here's who could replace Rep. Stewart in Congress". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
- Bates, Suzanne (June 8, 2023). "Becky Edwards, Greg Hughes officially enter the race for Chris Stewart's House seat". Deseret News. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
- Pignanelli, Frank; Webb, LaVarr (June 1, 2023). "Opinion: Who will replace Rep. Chris Stewart in Congress?". Deseret News. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
- Singer, Jeff (June 9, 2023). "Daily Kos Elections Live Digest: 6/9". Daily Kos. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
- Tomco, Brigham (June 24, 2023). "Celeste Maloy wins Utah Republican convention, advances in effort to replace Rep. Chris Stewart". Deseret News. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
- Jacobson, Matthew (June 20, 2023). "Ahead of debate in special election, Rep. Chris Stewart endorses staffer to fill position". KUTV. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
- "2024 Election United States House - Utah 2nd". fec.gov. Federal Election Commission. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
- "2023 CD2 Special Election Convention Results". The Utah Republican Party.
- Kael Weston [@KaelWeston] (June 13, 2023). "I have decided not to seek the Utah Democratic Party nomination for the upcoming special election in Utah's 2nd Congressional District" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- "Democratic representative Nicholas Mitchell seeks 2nd Congressional District chair in House". Retrieved November 28, 2023.
- "Here's who could replace Rep. Chris Stewart in Congress". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
- Anderson, Ben (June 29, 2023). "Sen. Kathleen Riebe Wins Democratic Nomination for Congressional District 2". Utah Democrats.
- Short, Barry; Lammi, Phil. "Utah Libertarian Party (UTLP) Nominates Mr. Bradley Garth Green for Utah's Congressional District-2" (PDF). Utah Libertarian Party. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
- Poonia, Gitanjali (October 12, 2023). "Utah 2nd District debate candidates revealed as commission releases new poll". Deseret News. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
- "While Trump Dominates the National Stage, He Hardly Registers in UT-02 Special". The Cook Political43 Report. July 18, 2023. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
- "Utah 2 Special: Beehive State Buzz". The Rothenberg Political Report. June 7, 2023. Archived from the original on June 8, 2023. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
Politically, the district is solidly Republican. It would have voted for Donald Trump by 17 points, 56-39 percent, in 2020, and by a similar margin for Trump in 2016: 47-31 percent, with the rest going to independent candidate Evan McMullin.
- "Special Election Results: Utah Congressional District 2". Decision Desk HQ. September 4, 2023. Retrieved September 5, 2023.