The two major party candidates for Utah’s 2nd Congressional District — Republican Celeste Maloy and Democrat Kathleen Riebe — faced off in a televised debate dominated more by the ongoing conflict in Israel and Gaza, the Speaker drama in Congress and questions about the economy than any direct tension between the two.
Both hope to fill the now-vacant seat once held by Chris Stewart, who resigned from Congress in September due to his wife’s health issues. That forced the governor and Legislature to change this year’s election date to minimize the amount of time Utah is short a vote in Washington D.C.
The debate was organized by the Utah Debate Commission and broadcast from the studios of PBS Utah.
Asked what the United States’ role should be in the Middle East, Maloy was quick to point out the different relationship the U.S. has with Israel compared to other countries.
“We need to be working with Israel to make sure they have the resources they need,” she said. “I don't know exactly what that needs to look like. Israel should be leading on this and working with us to let us know what they need so they're always in the driver's seat when they're defending their own nation.”
For Riebe, the nation should be taking an active role in the Middle East, advocating for a policy of containment, so the violence between Israel and Hamas “doesn't expand into other countries.”
“It's an unstable situation and we don't need to further any more instability in that region,” said Riebe. “We need to make sure that we are keeping the lines of communication open and supporting Israel with what Israel needs.”
Turning the attention closer to home, the House of Representatives has been on rocky ground since a prolonged funding fight threatened a government shutdown and eventually toppled Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Congress faces another funding deadline on Nov. 17 and lost time as Republicans struggled to install a new leader.
When asked if they would ever support a government shutdown, Riebe said she’s open to talking about spending cuts, but only “at a time when it's not so dire.”
“I would never vote for shutting down the government, I think it's irresponsible,” she said. “We have very important issues to deal with. I do believe that we need to cut spending, but not to the detriment of safety and security across the globe.”
For Maloy, the only circumstance where a shutdown is acceptable would be if spending were set to increase. However, she sees room to negotiate on government spending.
“We can take steps in the right direction. We can take small ones or large ones,” she said. “I'm willing to work with my colleagues and make sure we're going in the right direction. And as long as we're cutting spending and moving in the right direction, there's no need to shut down the government.”
Maloy frequently linked how the government manages its finances with the inflation that has hit the wallets of many Utahns. The prices on food, gasoline and other necessities have risen — and then fallen — in the last two years. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, after hitting a high of 9.1% for all items in June 2022, inflation has decreased to its current rate of 3.7%.
Despite that, Maloy said she’s heard a different story on the campaign trail.
“When people are feeling the pinch financially, then they get angry about politics,” she said. “And I think the way to restore Americans’ faith in our institutions is to get our financial house in order and take some of the anger out of the system and restore the faith in our system.”
While Riebe agreed that the spending power of a dollar dropped, she also saw things in a different light. While saying Congress does owe it to the American people to be “transparent and accountable for every dollar” they spend, she also championed recent legislation that injected money and jobs into the economy.
“I think the infrastructure bill that was passed has helped bring jobs into Utah and has brought dignity wages,” she said. “So creating a living wage and a dignity wage is going to make everybody's life way better.”
The rancor commonly seen in national politics was absent on the debate stage. There were not many hard disagreements between the two candidates on the issues throughout the evening, and even some agreement. In a district that has historically favored Republicans though, the path to victory for Riebe is an uphill one.
“I’m not sure how Riebe breaks through,” said Leah Murray, director of the Olene S. Walker Institute of Politics & Public Service at Weber State University. “I think the fact that Celeste Maloy is the Republican nominee is that district leaning into its rural consciousness and as a result, I just don’t think a Democrat does well in that district. Unless that Democrat was also from a rural county, then I think it might work.”
Maloy served as Stewart’s chief legal counsel from 2019 to his resignation and was his hand-picked choice to replace him. Maloy emerged as the Utah GOP’s pick after the June special nominating convention, but later faced controversy as questions about her voter status were raised by other candidates and their supporters.
A lawsuit challenge was ultimately dismissed in state court, and Maloy defeated Becky Edwards and Bruce Hough in the September GOP primary.
Riebe is a schoolteacher and has served in the Utah Senate since 2019. She also serves as minority whip. Her district covers Midvale, Cottonwood Heights, as well as the Big Cottonwood Canyon community of Brighton. Before her election, Riebe served on the Utah State Board of Education.
Maloy and Riebe will also face United Utah Party nominee January Walker, Constitution Party candidate Cassie Easley, Libertarian Brad Green and independents Joseph Geddes Buchman and Perry Myers in the Nov. 21 election. Ballots will be mailed to voters on Oct. 31.
The 2nd Congressional District is considered a safe Republican seat. After Utah’s congressional districts were redrawn following the 2020 census, Republicans solidified their hold on the state’s representation in Washington by splitting the populous Democrat-friendly Salt Lake County into four pieces.
In 2022, Stewart won reelection by more than 25 percentage points.
