A pro-Trump candidate won a three-way Republican primary in a special election Tuesday to fill a soon-to-be vacant congressional seat in Utah.
Celeste Maloy, a proponent of former President Donald Trump, defeated former state Rep. Becky Edwards, winning 38 percent of the vote in the race for Utah’s 2nd Congressional District.
Edwards won 35 percent of the vote, while businessman Bruce Hough had 26 percent.
The trio were vying to be the GOP candidate in the race to succeed Rep. Chris Stewart, who is resigning later this month to care for his ailing wife.
All three candidates campaigned on the traditional Republican platform of small government and pro-business agendas.
However, Edwards distinguished herself as a Trump critic, while Maloy and Hough blasted the recent indictments against the 45th president as politically motivated.
But perhaps the nail in Edwards’ election coffin was that she voted for Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential race, a move she said she regretted.
The results of the special election should serve as a wakeup call for Sen. Mitt Romney, whose anti-Trump rhetoric has put him at odds with many Utah Republicans.
The senator, who often angers conservatives by working with Democrats, voted to convict Trump in both of his impeachment trials.
Romney, a supporter of the race-baiting, anti-police Black Lives Matter movement, is up for election in 2024.
Black Lives Matter. pic.twitter.com/JpXUFlxH2J
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) June 7, 2020
Hopefully, voters will boot him from the upper chamber next year, since he has done next to nothing to serve his constituents or his party during his five insignificant years in the Senate.
Romney was lambasted on social media after congratulating Maloy on her election victory.
Hey scumbag Mitt, have you apologize to President Trump for falsely impeaching him on a Ukraine call? No?
— Henry (@HenryBack2Play) September 7, 2023
Senator, to be blunt you have lost your credibility throughout the US! Retire! You are no Republican.
— kvan (@kvanDiggelen) September 7, 2023
Several Utah Republicans have announced they will challenge Romney in next year’s GOP primary race or are considering doing so. They include state House Speaker Brad Wilson and Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs.
Utah needs another proven fighter and conservative in the Senate. We need someone unafraid to stand against the Washington establishment. That’s who I am, but I need your help to get there https://t.co/yg5tnTG4mV pic.twitter.com/qof9JQYi7C
— Mayor Trent Staggs (@MayorStaggs) May 23, 2023
Romney has not yet announced if he plans to run for re-election. However, he said he would reveal his decision by the end of the year, the Deseret News reported.
Last month, the senator said he believes Trump will win the GOP primary race in 2024.
“I think [Trump will] be the Republican nominee, President [Joe] Biden will be the Democratic nominee, and a lot of people in America are going to scratch their heads and say, ‘Why can’t we do better than this? I don’t want either one of them,’” he said, according to the Deseret News. “I’m one of those, but that’s probably what’s going to happen.”
This wishy-washy statement perfectly encapsulates Romney, who lives up to his moniker “Milquetoast Mitt.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
