SALT LAKE CITY — The race for the Republican nomination for Utah's 2nd Congressional District seat remained close Tuesday night, though GOP convention winner Celeste Maloy developed a growing lead as the evening drew to a close.

As the first counties began to report, Becky Edwards jumped out ahead of Maloy and Bruce Hough, but Maloy — who is from Cedar City — gained ground throughout the night and took a narrow lead after more than doubling Edwards' vote share in the latest results from Washington County.

Here are the latest vote shares, updated at 10:59 p.m. with preliminary results from all 13 counties in the district:

• Celeste Maloy (26,687 votes), 38.02%
• Becky Edwards (25,270), 36.00%
• Bruce Hough (18,237), 25.98%

Counties will update vote count totals Wednesday at 5 p.m.

Although the race has yet to be called, Hough trails by what appears to be an insurmountable margin. Maloy or Edwards will face state Sen. Kathleen Riebe, a Democrat, in the November general election, which means the 2nd District will most likely be represented by a woman in Congress — only the fifth in state history.

Maloy greeted over a hundred supporters in a packed ballroom in Cedar City, where she spoke of her strategy to focus on rural, southern counties.

"I always knew Salt Lake and Davis counties would be tough for me," she said. "I decided early on to have a rural strategy and make sure they felt heard, and seen, and represented, and I think it's working."

A loud cheer erupted from Edwards supporters when the first results were displayed at a campaign watch party in Salt Lake City; the mood in the room was nervous and optimistic.

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At 10 p.m., Edwards thanked supporters and sent them home to watch results. "We're going to say thank you for being here. Thank you for all your efforts to get to this point. Thank you for being committed to a shared vision for taking a little bit of Utah to Washington, D.C.," she said. "Go home. Keep watching and we're really optimistic and so grateful tonight. Thank you for being here."

At a watch party in West Valley City, Hough said he felt confident and excited with the early results, and was asked if he would have done anything differently in the campaign.

"We did everything we could do under this with the resources we had and what we could do," he said.

Each of the three candidates has a track record of working with the party, and each has appealed to a different segment of the Republican electorate.

The surprise winner out of the Utah Republican Party convention in June was Maloy, former chief legal staffer to Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah. Maloy leaned on her experience in Washington and the fact that she lives in Cedar City to appeal to rural voters who would like to see representation from outside of the Wasatch Front.

Stewart — whose resignation announcement kicked off the special election to fill his seat — endorsed Maloy as his replacement.

Edwards, a former state lawmaker who challenged Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, in a GOP primary last year, has appealed to moderate Republican voters and cast herself as an experienced legislator who can get results in a closely divided Congress.

Longtime national Republican committeeman and former Utah GOP Chairman Hough campaigned to the right of Edwards, touting himself as the only candidate in the race who voted for former President Donald Trump in both 2016 and 2020. He has also leaned into his business and entrepreneurial experience when talking about issues such as the national debt and federal spending.

The winner of Tuesday's primary will advance to the Nov. 21 general election where they will face state Reibe, D-Cottonwood Heights.

Contributing: Suzanne Bates, Gitanjali Poonia, Brigham Tomco

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