Republican primary for Utah US House seat narrows into recount territory

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Republican primary race to represent Utah’s 2nd District in Congress narrowed into recount territory on Tuesday after dueling endorsements from influential Republicans created a conundrum for primary voters who had little time to get to know the incumbent before casting ballots.

The Associated Press declared the race between U.S. Rep. Celeste Maloy and challenger Colby Jenkins too close to call after nearly all counties in the district certified results on Tuesday.

Maloy, who is seeking her first full term in Congress after winning a special election last fall, had a lead of about 220 votes over Jenkins. That margin of 0.2 percentage points put the race within the recount zone, 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.

Maloy has tried to leverage a late endorsement from former President Donald Trump to undercut the conservative credentials of her challenger, who spent much of the campaign touting his loyalty to Trump.

Jenkins, a retired U.S. Army officer and telecommunications specialist, defeated Maloy earlier this year at the state GOP convention, which typically favors the farthest-right candidates. He got the nod from delegates after earning the support of Utah’s right-wing U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, but he did not win by a wide enough margin to bypass the primary.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«RELATED COVERAGE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-show-loadmore=«true»