Celeste Maloy speaks during the 2nd Congressional District Republican primary debate for outgoing Rep. Chris Stewart's seat, Friday, Aug. 4, 2023, in Farmington, Utah. Photo: AP Photo // Rick Bowmer

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Representative Celeste Maloy, the current officeholder for Utah’s second congressional district in Washington, narrowly secured her victory in a primary election recount, edging out challenger Colby Jenkins by just 176 votes.

Jenkins has filed a petition with the Utah Supreme Court, alleging that more than 1,000 ballots were not counted due to them being shipped to an out-of-state U.S. Postal Service processing center.

Jenkins claimed that while voters in the 2nd District might have mailed their ballots before the deadline, those ballots would not have been postmarked until several days later.

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The state’s highest court has requested that the Utah Attorney General’s Office respond to Jenkins’ petition by Wednesday. If the justices decide to consider the case, the court may schedule a hearing soon.

Maloy’s tentative lead in the primary recount has been the closest margin of victory in the past 30 years.

The recount, which took place six weeks after the late June election, reduced Maloy’s margin from an initial 214 votes to the current 176.

“The county clerks and their staffs have done amazing work to count and recount the ballots. Their process has been thorough, transparent and their remarkable accuracy should inspire confidence in our election system,” Maloy said in a statement.

She is, however, holding off on declaring victory just yet: “I recognize that there is ongoing litigation, and I am eager to get a decision from the courts. We will continue to monitor the situation closely. Meanwhile, I will continue to focus on advancing a conservative agenda for the people of Utah’s 2nd District.”

Maloy’s initial election-night lead of nearly 1,000 votes dwindled over the following days to just over 200 votes, coming within the recount threshold of about 270 votes, or 0.25% of the total votes cast.

Jenkins submitted a formal recount request on July 29, the last day permitted for such a request, which allowed all 13 counties seven days, until August 5, to review all rejected ballots and recount the valid ones.

“In every step of this process, we have advanced bit-by-bit and the votes we’ve gained in this recount are one more example of that,” Jenkins said in a statement. “What was a race that was too-close-to-call is now even closer. We eagerly await a decision from the Utah Supreme Court to ensure that every legal vote is counted and every voice is heard.”

Maloy will likely face Democratic challenger Nathaniel Woodward in November’s general election.