Ballots trickled into the 2nd Congressional District Republican primary race on Tuesday, slightly eroding Rep. Celeste Maloy’s slim lead to just 302 votes over her challenger Colby Jenkins. The race is the closest Utah Republican congressional primary in 30 years.
The drama to decide the fate of Maloy’s short tenure in office continues a week after the June 25 primary election as the district’s 13 counties process a final few dozen ballots and wait to hear back from several hundred GOP voters whose mail-in ballots were challenged because of signatures that don’t match those on record.
Tallies must be finalized ahead of next Monday and Tuesday’s canvasses where county election results are certified by county commissioners or council members following an audit of tabulation machines and an analysis of vote totals.
A recount in Utah’s 2nd Congressional District?
If the margin separating Maloy, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, and Jenkins, who was endorsed by Sen. Mike Lee, closes much further, Jenkins could file for recount. Jenkins can make the request to the Utah Lieutenant Governor’s Office if Maloy’s lead dips below .25% of the roughly 106,500 votes cast which would be a margin of around 270 votes.