Incumbent Maloy still leads after recount in Utah US House race, but lawsuit could turn the tide

SALT LAKE CITY — Results of a recount Monday’s close in the Republican primary for Utah’s 2nd Congressional District showed incumbent U.S. Rep. Celeste Maloy still narrowly ahead of her opponent, who preemptively filed a lawsuit challenging the results.

The Associated Press will not call the race until a decision has been made in a pending legal challenge by Colby Jenkins asking judges to decide whether 1,171 additional ballots rejected because of late postmarks should be counted.

Maloy leads by 176 votes after the recount, Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson announced Monday.

Jenkins is suing Henderson — the state’s chief elections officer — and clerks in nine of the 13 counties, alleging they knew about delays in processing and postmarking ballots but failed to address the problem or inform voters that their ballots would not be counted. He is asking the state Supreme Court to order those clerks to count all ballots disqualified because of invalid or late postmarks.

Henderson’s office declined to comment on the lawsuit.

State law requires that ballots be postmarked no later than the day before the election. Jenkins’ complaints center on a late batch of ballots from southern Utah that were sent through Las Vegas by the U.S. Postal Service.

If Jenkins wins his legal battle and more than 1,000 additional ballots come into play, it could turn the tide in a neck-and-neck race that has so far favored Maloy.

Maloy, who has the support of former President Donald Trump, is seeking her first full term in Congress after winning a special election last fall. Her primary victory would give Trump his only win this election cycle in Utah, a rare Republican stronghold that has yet to fully embrace its hold on the GOP.