Incumbent Maloy still leads after recount in Utah’s U.S. House race, but process could turn tide

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Results of a recount concluded Monday in the Republican primary for Utah’s 2nd Congressional District showed that current U.S. Rep. Celeste Maloy he still narrowly leads his opponent, who pre-emptively filed a lawsuit contesting the results.

The Associated Press is not calling the race until the resolution of a pending legal challenge by Colby Jenkins asking judges to decide whether an additional 1,171 ballots that were disqualified for late postmarking should be counted.

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

Jenkins is suing Henderson — the state’s chief elections officer — and officials in nine of the district’s 13 counties, alleging they were aware of delays in ballot processing and postmarking but failed to address the issue or inform voters that their ballots would not be counted. He is asking the state Supreme Court to direct these clerks to count all ballots disqualified due to invalid or late postmarks.

Henderson’s office declined to comment on the lawsuit.

State law requires ballots to be postmarked no later than the day before the election. Jenkins’ complaints revolve around a delayed batch of absentee ballots in southern Utah routed through Las Vegas by the U.S. Postal Service.

If Jenkins wins his legal challenge and more than a thousand additional votes enter the mix, they could turn the tide in a tight race that has thus far always favored Maloy.

Maloy, who is endorsed by former President Donald Trumpseeks his first full term in Congress after win a special election last fall. His victory in the primary would mean Trump’s only victory this election cycle in Utah, a rare Republican stronghold that has not fully embraced his dominance of the Republican Party.