Former Rep. Chris Stewart’s super PAC just dropped nearly $900,000 to prop up Rep. Celeste Maloy in Utah’s 3rd Congressional District, a race she barely survived two years ago.
Maloy served as an attorney in Stewart’s office and then won the special election to succeed him in Congress when he abruptly retired in 2023. Under Federal Election Commission rules, candidates and super PACs cannot coordinate.
Since Sunday, the Defending Our Values super PAC, chaired by Stewart, has reported expenditures totaling $879,000 to support Maloy. That tops the $722,734 in all outside spending during her 2024 primary against Colby Jenkins, which she won by just 214 votes.
The buys cover television and digital ads plus at least three mailers.
Both of the pro-Maloy ads lean hard into her Trump credentials, featuring a 2025 Truth Social post in which former President Donald Trump says Maloy will “never let you down,” alongside a bold “Endorsed by President Trump” graphic.
State Rep. Phil Lyman, who is challenging Maloy in the GOP primary, slammed the pro-Maloy spending, tying it into his larger anti-corruption message.
“Members of Congress are supposed to protect the citizens of their state and district, not sell them to the highest bidder. Of course, in this case, the highest bidder is willing to pay $870,000 in just their first installment. Who knows what they expect in return. Utah is run by pirates. This needs to stop,” Lyman said in a statement.
Maloy’s campaign did not comment directly on the spending by Stewart’s group, but did provide a statement.
“Our campaign cannot coordinate with any outside groups, and we are focused on what we can control. Communicating directly with voters about my conservative record, my work to cut taxes, secure our border, defend Utah’s public lands, and deliver real results for Utah families. I am grateful to be endorsed by leaders throughout Utah, and the support I have received during this campaign.”
Stewart’s PAC sits inside a network affiliated with Public First Action, a nonprofit pushing AI regulations and safeguards. The group launched last year, co-founded by Stewart and Oklahoma Democrat Brad Carson, as a counterweight to the Leading the Future super PAC, which is pushing for looser AI regulation. Anthropic chipped in $20 million to Public First Action earlier this year, and the organization says it’s aiming to raise $75 million for the midterms.
The $879,000 is the second-largest amount Defending Our Values has put behind a candidate so far this cycle. The biggest: $1.49 million for Texas Republican Carlos De La Cruz, who won the primary in Texas’ 35th Congressional District last month.
In all, outside groups have poured more than $1 million into the CD3 race, with most of it supporting Maloy. A separate committee, Defending Utah Values PAC, spent $20,000 on ads attacking Lyman. That PAC is led by Owen Fuller, a longtime ally of Gov. Spencer Cox, who beat Lyman in the 2024 GOP gubernatorial primary.
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