The GOP primary field for September’s special congressional election is (mostly) set

The field for the Republican special congressional primary to nominate a replacement for outgoing Rep. Chris Stewart in Utah’s 2nd Congressional District is mainly set. All that remains is the counting of signatures.

It takes 7,000 signatures to qualify for the September primary. Republicans Becky Edwards and Bruce Hough each collected over 10,000 signatures before Wednesday’s deadline.

Hough’s campaign turned in their petitions on Wednesday afternoon. They’re confident there’s enough to cross the finish line as they paid signature gatherers and a third-party company to validate them.

“We used the list of Republican registered voters from the Lt. Governor’s office. Most of my signatures were gathered by targeting known [2nd Congressional District] voters for signatures at the doorstep,” Hough said in a statement. “I look forward to demonstrating to voters that I’m the only qualified conservative candidate on the ballot.”

Edwards’ team employed a team of volunteers along with some paid signature-gathering. They submitted the first batch of signatures last week and turned in a final set on Wednesday, estimating they’ll finish with over 12,000.

A spokesperson for Edwards said the candidate had been a resident of the 2nd District for decades, which is reflected in the support from volunteers.

“Voters care that she has lived in the district for 30 years and has represented many of them in the House. We’re really proud of their efforts,” spokesperson Chelsea Fife said in a text message.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Edwards had 2,069 verified signatures.

As Edwards and Hough wait to see if they qualify for the primary ballot, Celeste Maloy is already on the ballot, despite lingering questions about her candidacy.

Maloy, a former staffer in Stewart’s office, relocated to Virginia in 2019 but moved back to Utah last month to run in the race to replace her boss. After narrowly edging out former Utah House Speaker Greg Hughes at the special GOP convention, it was discovered Maloy may not have been eligible to run.

Maloy was considered a nonregistered voter when she filed to run on June 12 because she had not cast a ballot in two straight elections and changed her address to Virginia. Maloy’s voter status has raised questions about whether she was eligible to run as a Republican. Utah law prohibits anyone from seeking the nomination of a political party they don’t belong to. She re-registered to vote in Utah the day after the filing deadline closed.

Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson and legislative leaders are at odds over whether Maloy should have been disqualified from the race.

Last week, Henderson, who oversees elections in Utah, said Maloy was eligible because she met the constitutional requirements for members of Congress, which says nothing about being registered to vote.

On Monday, legislative leaders said Henderson did not follow the law in this case, and Maloy should have been disqualified because she was not a Republican when she filed to run.

Despite the controversy, Utah GOP Chair Rob Axson submitted Maloy’s name as the convention winner for inclusion on the primary ballot Wednesday afternoon. The only remaining challenge to her candidacy would be through the courts.

Whoever wins the GOP primary in September will face state Sen. Kathleen Riebe on the November ballot. Democratic delegates overwhelmingly voted to nominate Riebe last week.