Trump-backed US Rep. Celeste Maloy wins Republican primary in Utah after recount, court case

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — U.S. Rep. Celeste Maloy narrowly won the Republican primary in Utah’s 2nd Congressional District on Tuesday after the state Supreme Court rejected her challenger’s lawsuit that asked justices to count a batch of ballots with late postmarks after Maloy defeated him in a recount by fewer than 200 votes.

After hearing oral arguments last week, the Utah Supreme Court shot down Colby Jenkins’ last-ditch effort to recover enough disqualified ballots to overtake his opponent. The panel determined that Jenkins failed to identify any instance where election officials did not comply with state law, Chief Justice Matthew Durrant wrote in a court order Tuesday. He said Jenkins’ lawyers also did not inform the court in their petition that they would be challenging the constitutionality of the state law requiring to ballots be postmarked.

“His petition falls well short of establishing that he is entitled to the relief he seeks,” Durrant wrote.

Maloy, who is endorsed by former President Donald Trump, led by 176 votes after a recount in early August, which makes her the Republican nominee now that Jenkins has exhausted all avenues to challenge the results. She is seeking her first full term in Congress after winning a special election last fall.

Her lead after Election Day was narrow enough to put the race within recount territory, which in Utah is when the difference in votes for each candidate is equal to or less than 0.25% of the total number of votes cast. Jenkins formally requested the recount but followed it up immediately with his legal challenge contesting the certification of results over more than a thousand late ballots.

Maloy’s primary victory notches Trump his only win of this election cycle in Utah, a rare Republican stronghold that has not fully embraced his grip on the GOP. She is favored to win in November over Democratic nominee Nathaniel Woodward, a family law attorney. The 2nd District, which groups liberal Salt Lake City with conservative St. George and includes many rural western Utah towns, has not been represented by a Democrat since 2013.