Preliminary results: Utah’s 3 Republican incumbents lead in bids to return to U.S. House

Republican incumbents running to represent Utah’s three right-leaning congressional districts took the lead Tuesday just after the polls closed, according to initial results. 

Under a court-ordered redraw of the state’s congressional map, all three representatives — Blake Moore, Mike Kennedy and Celeste Maloy — are vying for different seats in the U.S. House than they’re currently representing. 

The new Utah boundaries are the culmination of a yearslong legal battle over redistricting in the state. They’ve also carved out a safe blue district centered in Salt Lake County, with Democrats expected to send a candidate to Congress for the first time in years. 

Nationally, forecasters said Democrats were on track to win control of the U.S. House and possibly the Senate as voters have grown frustrated with rising costs, States Newsroom reported.

In the race for northern Utah’s 2nd Congressional District, Moore led Democratic challenger Peter Crosby 50 % to 44% in a race where issues of the proposed Stratos data center and the drying Great Salt Lake factored large.  

Moore, who holds a leadership position as vice chair of the House Republican Conference, was the lone member of Utah’s House delegation to back former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney when she broke with Trump and condemned the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. 

Pointing to September polling commissioned by the Utah Debate Commission, the Utah Democratic Party has said Crosby is  “within striking distance” — five points — behind Moore. 

In response, Moore said last month he’s confident in his campaign, although he acknowledged third-party candidates and undecided voters can create some wild cards in polling. 

In the contest for the sprawling 3rd District covering more than half the state, Maloy pulled ahead of Democratic nominee Kent Udell with 59% to Udell’s 35%.

Maloy, an attorney and former congressional staffer, has pitched herself as a problem-solver and touted her role as chair of the large Congressional Western Caucus as she seeks a second full term in the House. 

And while Maloy supported Trump’s orders slashing Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears national monuments in Utah, Udell has condemned those decisions. He’s also called for more study of nuclear energy’s promise as he’s made his case to voters. 

In his bid for a second term in the U.S. House, freshman Kennedy led Democrat Jonny Larsen 53% to 41% for the 4th District. 

Kennedy has said he’s “just getting started making Washington smaller and Utah stronger” during his first term in the House, while Larsen cast himself as a moderate Democrat focused on issues of fiscal responsibility and national security.

Each of the three incumbents received a fresh show of support from President Donald Trump a day earlier on social media as Trump sought to give a boost to Republicans across the country in the final hours of their campaigns. 

In the post on X Monday, Trump encouraged Utahns to “GET OUT AND VOTE for these Great Patriots! They have my Complete and Total Endorsement and will never let you down!”

Left off of Trump’s Utah endorsements was Riley Owen, the moderate Republican and former White House staffer from his first term going up against former Democratic Rep. Ben McAdams in the new 1st District.