Celeste Maloy Defeats Abortion Advocate to Win Special Congressional Election in Utah
On Tuesday, voters in Utah’s Second Congressional District went to the polls to vote in a special election to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of pro-life Rep. Chris Stewart (R). The Associated Press called the election for Republican Celeste Maloy, a former aide to Rep. Stewart, because of pro-abortion State Senator Kathleen Riebe (D).
Congresswoman-elect Maloy has been endorsed by National Right to Life in the race. Following endorsement, Maloy posted on X (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter), “I am delighted to receive the endorsement of the NRLC. I will always fight to protect the lives of the unborn!”
The issue of abortion came to the fore in the race. Riebe ran deceptive attack ads hitting Maloy on abortion, saying Maloy supported legislation that would put women who have abortions in prison.
In 2022, National Right to Life published an open letter signed by more than 75 national and state pro-life organizations reaffirming the pro-life movement’s opposition to legislation or policies that would punish or persecution of women who have abortions. Read on here.
In a piece titled, “Abortion rights won big this November. Will they affect Utah’s special congressional election?”, The Salt Lake Tribune opined that, “Riebe may have a better shot than the Democrats who have run for the seat in recent years.”
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Full results are still coming in, but with 70% of the vote counted, Maloy won by about 24 points over Riebe, according to Associated Press. Those numbers reflect the margin of victory by which Stewart won the seat in November 2022.
With Maloy’s victory, the US House will consist of 222 Republicans and 213 Democrats.
