ST. GEORGE — There is no shortage of candidates seeking to fill the congressional seat set to be vacated by Rep. Chris Stewart this September. Among those candidates are eight from Southern Utah.
On May 31, Stewart announced that he was resigning from Congress due to concerns related to his wife’s health. Soon after, the congressman said his last day in Congress would be Sept. 15. By that time, a special election will have been held (Sept. 5) to whittle down the number of congressional hopefuls, with the general election scheduled for Nov. 21.
According to a press release, the original primary and general election dates were changed by the Governor’s Office and Utah Legislature in order to minimize the time Stewart’s seat is left vacant. The Legislature also met Wednesday in a special session to appropriate $2 million to reimburse Utah counties for the date changes and how that may impact them.
Since Stewart’s resignation announcement, many people have either announced their intent or interest in running to replace the congressman. As of Wednesday, the filing deadline, 22 people have filed to run for Utah’s 2nd Congressional seat. In all, this includes 13 Republicans, three Democrats, two Utah United Party affiliates, two unaffiliated candidates, and one candidate each from the Libertarian and Constitution parties.
The Utah Republican Party is holding a special caucus convention meeting on June 24 to select the party’s preferred candidate. The event is being held at Delta High School in Delta.
Prior to the convention, two debates will be held by the Utah Republican Party. The first will take place on June 20 at 6 p.m. at Woods Cross High School in Woods Cross, and the second will be on June 22 at 6 p.m. at Dixie Technical College in St. George. Both events will be livestreamed and recorded.
Candidates hailing from Southern Utah are:
| Candidates | Profile |
Collecting signatures |
| Jordan Hess – Republican | Currently the public affairs officer for Washington City and vice-chair of the Utah Republican Party, Hess also has a background working with Sen. Mike Lee’s legislative team. |
No |
| Scott Reber – Republican | From St. George, Weber has spent 10 years as a staffer for various conservative lawmakers in Washington D.C, such a former Rep. Mia Love. |
Yes |
| R. Quin Denning – Republican | From Ivins, Denning runs a construction company and has run for the Utah Legislature twice in recent years. |
No |
| Bill Hoster – Republican | Currently the mayor of Leeds, Hoster has an EMS background and has been involved in medical-related business ventures. |
No |
| Celeste Maloy – Republican | From Cedar City, Maloy has served as Rep. Chris Stewart’s legal counsel since 2019. Prior to that, she served as a deputy county attorney for Washington County while also serving in the leadership of the Washington County Republican Party. |
No |
| Perry T. Myers – Unaffiliated | From St. George, Myers is an entrepreneur and owner of Belle Medical. |
No |
| Cassie Easley – Constitution | From Enoch, Easley previously ran against Stewart in the 2022 election. |
No |
| Bradley Green – Libertarian | From Enoch, Easley previously ran against Stewart in the 2022 election. |
No |
Others running for Utah 2nd Congressional District
Republicans
| Kathleen Anderson | Prior congressional candidate. |
No |
| Ty Jensen | Originally planning for a Senate run in 2024, Jensen was previously a 2022 congressional candidate. |
No |
| Scott Allen Hatfield | A U.S. Navy veteran, Hatfield has worked as a corrections officer and congressional staffer to Sens. Mike Lee and Mitt Romney. |
Yes |
| Remy Bubba Kush |
Yes |
|
| Greg Hughes | Hughes is a former Utah House Speaker and gubernatorial candidate. |
No |
| Bruce R. Hough | Hough is a member of the Republican National Committee and former chair of the Utah Republican Party. |
Yes |
| Becky Edwards | Former state legislator, Edwards ran for Senate against Sen. Mike Lee in 2021. |
Yes |
| Henry C. Eyring | Eyring is an assistant professor at Duke University. |
No |
Democrats
| Guy Warner | Warner is a tech executive at MonitorBase. |
No |
| Archie Williams III | Williams is a prior congressional candidate. |
No |
| Kathleen Reibe | Reibe serves as a current state senator. |
No |
Utah United and unaffiliated
| January Walker – Utah United | Walker is a prior 2022 congressional candidate. |
Yes |
| Stone Fonua – Utah United | Retired police officer, Fonua is a former Senate candidate. |
No |
| Joe Buchman – Unaffiliated | Buchman is a retired professor of finance and marketing working full-time on his campaign. He also served as former chair of the Libertarian Party of Utah, from which he resigned following his run for state treasurer in 2022. |
No |
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