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Celeste Maloy

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Celeste Maloy
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Utah's 2nd district
Incumbent
Assumed office
November 28, 2023
Preceded byChris Stewart
Personal details
Born (1981-05-22) May 22, 1981 (age 43)
Cedar City, Utah, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
RelativesCliven Bundy (uncle)
Ammon Bundy (cousin)
Ryan Bundy (cousin)
EducationSouthern Utah University
(BA)
Brigham Young University
(JD)
WebsiteHouse website

Celeste Maloy (born May 22, 1981) is an American attorney and Republican politician who is the U.S. representative for Utah's 2nd congressional district.[1] She previously served as chief legal counsel to U.S. Representative Chris Stewart and as the deputy county attorney for Washington County, Utah. Prior to her legal career, Maloy worked as a conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service.[2][3]

Early life and education

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Maloy was born in Cedar City, Utah, and raised in Hiko, Nevada in a single-wide trailer with five siblings; her mother, Cathy (née Turner)[4] sold Avon products, while her father, Edward Maloy,[5] was a volunteer firefighter.[6] She is the niece by marriage of Cliven Bundy and cousin of Ammon Bundy, known for their involvement in the 2014 Bundy standoff.[4] Maloy later graduated from Pahranagat Valley High School in Alamo, Nevada. After graduating high school, Maloy attended Southern Utah University, where she earned her degree in agriculture.[7] She earned a Juris Doctor from J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University in 2015.[6]

Early career

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Maloy worked for 11 years as a soil conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Utah.[8][6]

After law school, Maloy worked in Washington County, Utah, as a deputy county attorney, specializing in issues of public land law involving land and water policy.[6] She advocated on behalf of Utah landowners to the United States House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. She has continued working with issues of land rights and ownership with the Utah Association of Counties and the Washington County Water Conservancy District. Her work as deputy county attorney in Washington County put her in frequent contact with U.S. Representative Chris Stewart, and in 2019, she was hired by Stewart as chief legal counsel for both his district and Washington, D.C. offices.[6]

U.S. House of Representatives

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Elections

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2023 special

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Main article: 2023 Utah's 2nd congressional district special election

In June 2023, she announced her candidacy for the special election for Utah's 2nd congressional district after Representative Stewart announced his resignation to care for his wife's health issues.[9][10][11] Stewart publicly endorsed Maloy after reports that thirteen Republicans had filed for the contested primary election.[12][13]

On June 24, 2023, Maloy won the Utah Republican nominating convention for the 2nd district in an upset. However, she still had to face a primary election, as two other candidates had gathered enough signatures to make the primary ballot. Maloy won the most votes in a September 6 primary, to win the Republican nomination over former state Representative Becky Edwards.[14] Maloy faced state Senator Kathleen Riebe in the general election on November 21 and won by a comfortable margin.[15] She was sworn in on November 28, 2023.[16]

2024

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Main article: 2024 United States House of Representatives elections in Utah § District 2

Maloy faced multiple challengers in her first re-election bid, with her leading competitor being Colby Jenkins, a telecommunications businessman. Jenkins defeated Maloy at the state convention with 57% of the vote, but Utah law requires that any candidate who receives more than 40% of the vote at convention advance to a primary. The primary was held June 25, 2024, and Maloy won by such a small margin that a recount was automatically triggered. [17][18] On August 5, 2024, Utah Lt. Governor Deidre Henderson announced that the recount had confirmed Maloy's victory by 176 votes, allowing Maloy to advance to the general election against Democratic candidate Nathaniel Woodward and Constitiution Party candidate Cassie Easley.[19]

Committee assignments

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Caucus memberships

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Personal life

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Maloy and her family are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[4]

References

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  1. ^ "SUU to D.C. Legal Counsel - Celeste Maloy ('03)". SUU. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  2. ^ Applegate, Julie. "County responds to BLM draft resource plans, wants comment extension". Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  3. ^ "BLM releases controversial resource management plans; northern corridor still in question". Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c "Celeste Maloy is Ammon Bundy's cousin. Would that impact her views on public lands in Congress?". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  5. ^ https://www.deseret.com/2023/7/24/23791698/celeste-maloy-the-country-girl-running-for-congress/
  6. ^ a b c d e Eskow, Nick (November 21, 2023). "Utah district elects Celeste Maloy to succeed Stewart". Roll Call.
  7. ^ Staff, University Journal (March 4, 2018). "Leavitt Center's Public Lands Panel". SUU News. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  8. ^ "Celeste Maloy: The country girl running for Congress". Deseret News. July 25, 2023. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  9. ^ Altimari, Daniela (June 14, 2023). "Special elections in Utah, Rhode Island draw a glut of candidates". Roll Call. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  10. ^ "Several candidates file for Utah's second congressional district special election". KUTV. June 12, 2023.
  11. ^ "Who's in 2nd District race? Field is set for campaign to replace Rep. Chris Stewart". www.ksl.com.
  12. ^ Beal-Cvetko, Bridger. "Chris Stewart endorses chief legal staffer Celeste Maloy to fill his House seat". KSL.
  13. ^ Tomco, Brigham (June 20, 2023). "Rep. Chris Stewart endorses Celeste Maloy to replace him". Deseret News.
  14. ^ Higgins, Sean (September 7, 2023). "Edwards concedes and Celeste Maloy wins Utah's 2nd Congressional Republican primary". KUER. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  15. ^ Kimball, Spencer (November 22, 2023). "Republican Celeste Maloy wins Utah's 2nd Congressional District". CNBC. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  16. ^ "Rep. Celeste Maloy sworn in as Utah's newest member of Congress". Deseret News. November 29, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  17. ^ Bojórquez, Kim (July 5, 2024). "Rep. Celeste Maloy holds razor-thin lead in GOP primary re-election bid". Axios Salt Lake City. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
  18. ^ Bruce, Becky (July 5, 2024). "Fewer than 200 votes separate Maloy, Jenkins". KSLNewsRadio. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
  19. ^ Beal-Cvetko, Bridger (August 5, 2024). "Celeste Maloy still on top after recount in 2nd Congressional District primary". KSL Salt Lake City. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  20. ^ a b c "Committees and Caucuses". maloy.house.gov. U.S. Representative Celeste Maloy. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
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U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Utah's 2nd congressional district
2023–present 		Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by United States representatives by seniority
423rd 		Succeeded by
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