Republican · Utah's 3rd District · 2026
Celeste Maloy
Maloy grew up in a trailer in rural Nevada with five siblings.
Biography
Celeste Maloy grew up with five siblings in a mobile home in Hiko, Nevada, surrounded by desert and federal public lands.1 Summer days included riding bikes to nearby springs and exploring the country around their small community.1
Through Future Farmers of America, she and a childhood friend tied in a land judging contest that earned them college scholarships.1 Maloy studied agriculture at Southern Utah University, then spent more than a decade helping farmers and ranchers address erosion, water shortages and other resource problems as a federal soil conservationist.1 She says frustration with federal policies affecting those families pushed her toward law school.1
She later earned a law degree at Brigham Young University and worked for Washington County on public lands and resource management.1 Her county work included developing a resource management plan and negotiating with federal land managers.1 She became Representative Chris Stewart's chief legal counsel before winning the 2023 special election to succeed him.12
Maloy currently represents the Second District.2 She is running in the redrawn Third.3 On Appropriations, her priorities include Great Salt Lake funding and reducing federal spending.3 She faces Democrat Kent Udell, Constitution candidate Cassie Easley, Libertarian Michael Stoddard and unaffiliated candidates Adonis Hooslyn and Ayden Scott.3
Record and controversies
Historical ballot eligibility challenge
In July 2023, a former convention rival sued over Maloy's inactive voter registration and eligibility for the special election ballot. Maloy called it a distraction; state election officials said she had satisfied the requirements.4 On July 31, a judge declined to remove her temporarily, saying the balance of harm favored leaving her on the ballot. Her lawyers distinguished active voter registration from party membership and disputed the residency allegations.5 The contemporary report described denial of interim relief, not a final merits ruling on the entire lawsuit. A later final merits disposition was not verified here, and no 2026 disqualification is claimed.