Celeste Maloy wins election in 3rd District, AP projects

SALT LAKE CITY — Rep. Celeste Maloy will win reelection to her second full term in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Associated Press projects.

Maloy, a Republican, is on track to cruise to a win in Utah's 3rd Congressional District, one of the nation's largest, which spans nearly all of southern and eastern Utah and parts of the Wasatch Front and Wasatch Back.

She defeated first-time candidate Kent Udell, a Democrat, 58-35%, according to initial results. Several other candidates earned less than 10% of the vote. The Associated Press called the race for Maloy at 10:03 p.m..

Maloy currently represents Utah's 2nd District, but won the newly redrawn 3rd Congressional District after a court-imposed redistricting last year.

The congresswoman is a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, and campaigned on using her position to get money to Utah for the Great Salt Lake and other issues. She also touted her support for the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill passed last year, saying the tax cuts extended by Congress will help Utahns struggling to make ends meet.

Udell also leaned into affordability, but it was not enough in what was seen as a heavily conservative district.

Several other candidates were also vying for the seat: Constitution Party candidate Cassie Easley, Libertarian Michael Stoddard and unaffiliated candidates Adonis Hooslyn and Ayden Scott.