The deadline has arrived for candidates jockeying to qualify for the primary ballot in the special election to replace 2nd Congressional District Rep. Chris Stewart.
Following Stewart’s announcement that he would resign on Sept. 15, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox designated July 5 at 5 p.m. as the cutoff for qualified political parties to submit the names of candidates chosen at party conventions, and for signature-gathering candidates to submit signatures.
Three Republican candidates — Celeste Maloy, Becky Edwards and Bruce Hough — have emerged, with the latter two still waiting for signature verifications to ensure their spot on the ballot.
While Maloy is thought to carry an advantage going into the Republican special primary as the state GOP’s delegate convention winner, the last few years have seen several examples of the delegates’ nominee losing out to signature gatherers like former Utah gov. Gary Herbert, 3rd Congressional District Rep. John Curtis and U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney — a pattern Edwards and Hough are hoping to replicate.
As of Wednesday morning, Edwards had submitted over 11,000 signatures, with at least one more batch expected before the 5 o’clock buzzer, according to a campaign staffer. This number comes in at well over the 7,000 signature threshold required by state law to make the primary ballot, reflecting a desire to avoid falling short because of discarded signatures.
The lieutenant governor’s office will publish an ongoing tally of certified signatures each weekday morning at 9 a.m. Which you can access here. Edwards currently has 2,069 certified signatures.The Hough campaign submitted what they estimated was 10,500 signatures Wednesday afternoon.
Utah GOP chair Rob Axson submitted Maloy’s name to the lieutenant governor’s office Wednesday in a statement just before the deadline.
Read more about the three candidates' messages to 2nd Congressional District Republican voters.
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