SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — In a dramatic turn of events, Colby Jenkins, the Republican challenger for Utah's 2nd District U.S. House seat, has filed a lawsuit with the Utah Supreme Court contesting the primary election results as a recount begins. Jenkins, who trails incumbent U.S. Rep. Celeste Maloy by a narrow margin of 214 votes, or 0.2 percentage points, is seeking to overturn the disqualification of 1,171 ballots due to late postmarking.
The recount, which is legally mandated in Utah when the vote difference is equal to or less than 0.25% of the total votes cast, was formally requested by Jenkins on Monday. However, his subsequent lawsuit filed on Tuesday aimed to challenge the certification of results, specifically focusing on the 1,171 disqualified ballots. The Utah Supreme Court initially rejected Jenkins' motion for failing to justify why the case should be heard by the Supreme Court rather than a district court. Jenkins was allowed to refile, which he did on Wednesday.
Jenkins' lawsuit targets Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, the state’s chief election officer, and clerks in nine of the district's 13 counties. He alleges that these officials were aware of ballot processing and postmarking delays but failed to address the issue or inform voters that their ballots would not be counted. Jenkins is requesting the court to order these clerks to count all ballots disqualified due to invalid or late postmarks. Henderson's office has declined to comment on the lawsuit.
State law mandates that ballots must be postmarked no later than the day before the election. Jenkins' concerns center on a late batch of southern Utah ballots that were routed through Las Vegas by the U.S. Postal Service. Prior to the election, Jenkins had expressed skepticism about the transparency of U.S. elections, joining many national Republicans in questioning the integrity of the electoral process.
Despite the legal challenges, Jenkins remains committed to ensuring that every voter's voice is counted. "Every legal vote, every voice must be counted," Jenkins stated. "Hope remains. We fight on." Volunteers from his campaign are monitoring the recount process across the state, which must be completed by next Tuesday.
Incumbent Maloy, who is seeking her first full term in Congress after winning a special election last fall, has expressed confidence that the recount will not alter the outcome. However, if Jenkins succeeds in his legal challenge and more than a thousand additional ballots are counted, the tight race could potentially shift in his favor. "I remain strongly in favor of counting every legal vote," Maloy said, acknowledging the anticipated appeal to the Utah Supreme Court.
Jenkins, a retired U.S. Army officer and telecommunications specialist, had previously defeated Maloy at the state GOP convention, which typically favors far-right candidates. He received support from Utah’s right-wing U.S. Sen. Mike Lee but did not secure a wide enough margin to bypass the primary. Maloy has maintained a slight edge over Jenkins, leveraging a late endorsement from former President Donald Trump.
The outcome of this race could significantly impact Trump's reputation as a Republican kingmaker in Utah, a traditionally Republican stronghold. A Jenkins win would mean all of Trump’s endorsed candidates in Utah lost their primaries this year, while a Maloy victory would mark Trump's only win in the state during this election cycle.
The 2nd District, which includes both liberal Salt Lake City and conservative St. George, is expected to favor the Republican primary winner in the November election over Democratic nominee Nathaniel Woodward, a family law attorney. The district has not been represented by a Democrat since 2013.