District 2 Race ‘Too Close To Call': KSUB News Summary

The Republican primary in Congressional District 2 was too close to call as votes from the sprawling district that includes Washington and Iron counties rolled in Tuesday night. Shortly before 11 p.m., fewer than 12-hundred votes separated Celeste Maloy who led Becky Edwards.

Updated results are expected Thursday afternoon. Preliminary results from Iron County show Maloy as the clear winner in the county by capturing more than 51% of the vote. Hough placed second in Iron County with 28% of the vote, while Edwards finished last. Maloy is a former aide to Congressman Chris Stewart, who is retiring later this month.

Edwards is a former state lawmaker who challenged Senator Mike Lee in the 2022 GOP primary. Maloy and Edwards were running well ahead of businessman Bruce Hough. Statewide, Maloy had 38-percent of the vote while Edwards had 36-percent and Hough had 26-percent. The winner will face Democratic state lawmaker Kathleen Riebe in the November 21st general election.

City Council Race

In the Cedar City Council race, incumbent Tyler Melling was the top vote recipient gathering just over 20% in the preliminary vote count. He was followed by Robert Cox, Carter Wilkey, Brittany Fisher, Mark Mumford and Kathy Long. If these numbers continue those six individuals will face off in the General Election on November 21^st while Sara Ridgel would be eliminated. Again, these are preliminary, unofficial numbers.

Mitt's Looking Up!

Utah Senator Mitt Romney's approval rating is dramatically higher than it's been in months, according to a new poll. The latest Deseret News/Hinckley Institute poll shows the Republican senator's approval among GOP voters has really jumped.

After having support from only 40-percent of Republicans in May, Romney's rating shot up to 56-percent in the latest poll. And 54-percent of all Utah voters say they strongly or somewhat approve of Romney's performance. Romney hasn't decided yet whether he'll run for a second term in 2024. He recently said he'll decide this fall whether to run for re-election and that he'll make an announcement before the end of the year.

Make Them Raise The Lake!

A coalition of environmental groups are filing a lawsuit against the state of Utah. Environmentalists are accusing lawmakers and agencies of not taking more drastic measures to save the Great Salt Lake. Officials say the lake has dropped to its lowest level in recorded history last year as a result of climate change. The lawsuit is asking a judge to command the state to take action by stopping lake level declines within two years and to meet a minimum threshold for a healthy lake.

Train A Comin'?

Transportation officials are exploring possible options of travel between Salt Lake City and Las Vegas. The Department of Transportation has applied for a grant to study the potential for a train between the two cities. The Nevada Department of Transportation is collaborating with Amtrak, Idaho and Utah transportation officials as an effort to reestablish the rail service. UDOT says they expect to find out later in the month if they received the grant.