GOP sweeps U.S. House races in Utah
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
U.S. Rep. Celeste Maloy at her swearing-in to the House of Representatives by Speaker Mike Johnson on Nov. 28, 2023. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Republicans were leading in races for all four Utah seats in the U.S. House of Representatives as of late Tuesday night.
The big picture: Since longtime former Democratic Rep. Jim Matheson retired in 2015, Utah has sent only one Democrat to Congress.
The intrigue: Utah's districts were drawn by the GOP-controlled legislature to strongly favor Republican candidates, despite a successful 2018 ballot measure that created an independent redistricting commission.
- Lawmakers revised the voter-passed law to make the commission "advisory" and threw out the commission's maps in favor of gerrymandered districts.
The latest: The Utah Supreme Court ruled this summer that lawmakers cannot ignore the voter-passed commission in a decision that could lead to new maps.
- But for Tuesday's election, the boundaries remained as Republican lawmakers drew them.
Congressional District 1
Rep. Blake Moore defeated Democratic challenger Bill Campbell and Libertarian Daniel Cottam, with 62.7% of the vote when the AP called the race after 11pm.
- Elected in 2020, Moore is a moderate compared to many GOP representatives.
- He serves on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.
Congressional District 2
GOP Rep. Celeste Maloy was up with 57.4% of the vote, on the path to defeating Democrat Nathaniel Woodward, Cassie Easley of the Constitution Party and unaffiliated candidate Tyler Murset.
- Maloy was a staffer for former Rep. Chris Stewart when she won his seat last year in a special election after he retired.
Catch up quick: Maloy faced a tough primary challenge from the right by Colby Jenkins, a former Green Beret with the U.S. Army who received an endorsement from Sen. Mike Lee.
- Maloy won the primary by fewer than 200 votes following a recount.
Congressional District 3
Conservative state Sen. Mike Kennedy of Alpine was at 65.3% when the AP declared his victory Democrat Glenn Wright for the seat held by John Curtis, who won his bid Tuesday for Mitt Romney's Senate seat.
- Kennedy, a physician, sponsored controversial legislation last year that banned gender-affirming health care for transgender children and teens.
Congressional District 4
Rep. Burgess Owens was on his way to his third term in the House, with 60.9% of the vote.
- Burgess, a MAGA conservative, was poised to defeat Democrat Katrina Fallick-Wang, unaffiliated candidate M. Evan Bullard, and Vaughn Cook of the United Utah Party.
Editor's note: This is a developing story and will be updated.