SALT LAKE CITY — Across Utah's 2nd Congressional District, the candidates for the Republican primary are racing to earn support and get voters to fill out and turn in their ballots.
Becky Edwards, Celeste Maloy and Bruce Hough are all vying for the nomination to replace resigning Congressman Chris Stewart, in a district that stretches from Davis County to Washington County.
A poll published Monday by the Deseret News and Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah showed Edwards with a double-digit lead over her opponents. But nearly half of the GOP voters in that congressional district said they were undecided.
"The most important poll number right here is 47%. These are registered Republicans who say they are going to participate in the primary they don’t know who they’re going to vote for. That is a big number right now," Jason Perry, the director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics, told FOX 13 News.
That is enough to change it for anyone. Hough's campaign was critical of the poll.
"The Deseret News poll is 14 days old. It was conducted before ballots went out. It’s essentially a name ID exercise. It’s also modeling for an 81% turnout. The historic average primary turnout is roughly 50%. A special election at the end of August will be lucky to have 40% turnout. The poll is garbage. It’s journalistic malpractice for the Deseret News to push it out this late," Hough campaign manager Russ Walker said in a statement to FOX 13 News.
"We have internal polling and daily tracking, and we are confident that Utahns in the 2nd district will reject Becky, who voted for Obama and Biden, and Celeste, who doesn’t vote. We believe they will choose Bruce Hough, the only Republican in the race that voted for Trump in ‘16 and ‘20."
Edwards' campaign, obviously, was happy with the poll numbers.
"We are optimistic about the results of the poll and thrilled with the tremendous support we've received thus far. We know from talking to thousands of voters across the district that Utahns are ready to send a proven, common-sense conservative to Washington. We remain steadfast in our commitment to work hard every day to earn the trust and votes of Utahns in CD-2," the Edwards campaign said in a statement.
"We're confident in our ability to connect with the undecided voters in the 2nd District. Our dedicated team of hundreds of volunteers plays a pivotal role in spreading our message to communities across the district. Becky is the only candidate on the ballot with 10 years of experience working on behalf of Utah families and businesses. People believe in our positive message, and they want to see a champion for Utah values in Congress."
Maloy's campaign was confident that those undecided voters would pivot toward her.
"The groundswell of support as I campaign all across the district is real and growing," Maloy said in a statement to FOX 13 News. "With nearly half of the electorate undecided, I am confident that conservative Republicans will turnout in support of the Utah Republican Party's official convention nominee and reject those that seek to buy a seat in Congress. Chris Stewart supports me because he knows that I can hit the ground running on behalf of the 2nd District."
Beyond the 2nd Congressional District, Tuesday's primary will also have many communities with municipal primaries. This year, because of the special election, voters can postmark their ballot on Sept. 5 — the primary election day.
"The reason we’re doing that obviously is the day before is a federal holiday, Labor Day," said Lt. Governor Deidre Henderson, the state's top elections officer.
Vote-by-mail is very popular in Utah. Registered voters with a primary should have received their ballot in the mail by now. Lt. Gov. Henderson said there are many ways to turn in those ballots or vote in person, if people choose.
"We want people to vote however they’re comfortable voting, so if that means they use their by-mail ballot and drop it off at a drop box, or put it in the mail or take it into their clerk’s office," she said. "Or if they want to vote in person on Election Day, some people just enjoy that experience. We want them to do that as well. They just need to check with their county clerks to find out where those locations are going to be."
You can find out what district you live in by contacting your county clerk's office or visiting vote.Utah.gov.
