Republican incumbent Maloy wins as Moore, Kennedy lead in bids to return to U.S. House

Republican incumbents running for Utah’s three right-leaning congressional districts took the lead after polls closed, with Rep. Celeste Maloy the only declared winner Tuesday night by The Associated Press. 

If their leads hold, they’ll return to a Congress controlled by Democrats and with a new Democratic colleague in their delegation: former Rep. Ben McAdams.

Under a court-ordered redraw of the state’s congressional map, all three representatives — Blake Moore, Mike Kennedy and Maloy — vied 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, where McAdams won with 72% of the vote as of Tuesday night. 

In the race for northern Utah’s 2nd Congressional District — the tightest of the three Tuesday night — Moore led Democratic challenger Peter Crosby 50% to 43%. Issues of the proposed Stratos data center and the drying Great Salt Lake factored large in the contest.

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

Moore noted his lead Tuesday night was in line with recent polling. He said he hoped to win by a healthy margin, though he acknowledged what he called “persistent national trends.”

“When gas prices are what they are, and Republicans have the White House, House, and Senate, they’re going to get blamed for it,” he told reporters during a virtual news conference.

He said he looks forward to collaborating with McAdams and focusing on nonpartisan issues like the 2034 Winter Olympics in Utah and the drying Great Salt Lake. 

“We’ll have a delegation that puts Utah first,” Moore said. “I’m very confident with that.”

As national results rolled in showing early Democratic wins for key Senate seats, Utah Republican Party Chair Rob Axson told supporters at the party’s gathering at an upscale wedding venue in Draper that “socialism has no business in the United States of America.” 

He went on to say “now it’s not doom and gloom, right? Nationally, there’s some disappointments, but here locally, Utahns are showing up for Utahns.” 

Axson thanked Republican candidates in the room and urged others to get involved and run for office in 2028. 

Republican state lawmakers and conservative political activists appeared to stay upbeat and mingled as a trio of violinists played songs from Toy Story and James Bond movies. 

In the contest for the sprawling 3rd District covering more than half the state, Maloy pulled ahead of Democratic nominee Kent Udell with 58% to Udell’s 35%.

Maloy thanked supporters on election night in St. George, noting the district is “almost completely a new district for me. I’ve been representing 13 counties on the west side, and I’m only keeping six of those counties.” 

The 3rd District is the state’s most vast, stretching to three corners of the state. 

“So I had to show up and introduce myself to, you know, about 700,000 new people who had never met me before,” Maloy said. 

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 52% to 41% for the 4th District. 

Kennedy noted ballots were still being counted late Tuesday but assured supporters at the event venue in Draper that “my team and I, and you, all of us are together. We’re here to work. We’re not here to grandstand.” 

He went on to say that “whether I get to work with this party or that party, we’re focused on making sure that you have a voice in Washington, D.C.” 

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 McAdams in the new 1st District.

Contributing: David Condos, KUER