Republican Celeste Maloy has secured a spot on Utah’s 3rd Congressional District June primary ballot, according to new signature totals released Tuesday afternoon.
Maloy, who is seeking her second full term in Congress, is now safe from elimination at Saturday’s Utah Republican State Convention, where she’ll face former state Rep. Phil Lyman, a favorite of GOP delegates.
Maloy was almost kept off the ballot when challenger Colby Jenkins grabbed 57% of the delegate vote at the 2024 state convention. She squeaked into the primary by just 176 votes.
This year, Maloy left nothing to chance, updating her declaration of candidacy to include Utah’s signature path after Lyman jumped into the race.
Now the pressure shifts to Lyman. He’s also collecting signatures, but as of Tuesday, he remains about 5,500 short of what he needs to automatically qualify for the ballot. County clerks must complete signature verification by Friday.
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If Lyman does not reach the required 7,000 signatures, he needs to secure at least 40% of the vote at Saturday’s convention to advance to the primary. David Harris and Tyler Murset are also seeking the GOP nomination in the 3rd District.
Maloy has a massive cash advantage over Lyman and the rest of the field ahead of a potential primary election fight. According to the most recent FEC filings, Maloy has more than $460,000 on hand, while Lyman has raised less than $5,000.
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