Voters head to the polls Tuesday in two special congressional primaries that will likely determine two new members of Congress — one Democrat and one Republican.
Since the primaries in Utah and Rhode Island are both in heavily partisan districts, Tuesday's winners are expected to head to Congress, barring any general election surprise.
Utah's 2nd District
In Utah's 2nd District, Republican Rep. Chris Stewart announced earlier this year that he would leave Congress in September. To replace him, Republican voters will choose among three conservative candidates with little daylight between them on the issues.
On the economy, government spending, taxes and Ukraine, the candidates are largely in agreement. As a result, such issues as whether they voted for Trump in 2020 or whether a candidate is eligible to be on the ballot have become pivot points.
Celeste Maloy, a former congressional attorney for Stewart, has her previous boss's endorsement in the primary. But before her campaign launch, Maloy lived in the Washington, D.C.-area while working for Stewart, and so wasn’t registered to vote as a Republican in Utah. That earlier residency prompted another candidate to challenge Maloy's eligibility to run, which a judge tossed.
Utah provides candidates with various pathways to get on the ballot — either they amass support from enough delegates at a special election convention, or they gather enough signatures to qualify.
Maloy won her ballot spot at that convention, while former state lawmakers Becky Edwards and Bruce Hough, a former Republican National Committeeman from the state who previously served as state party chairman, qualified with signatures.
Maloy hasn't voted in the presidential election in years, while Edwards said she voted for Joe Biden instead of Donald Trump in 2020.
Hough has capitalized on that dynamic, emphasizing to voters that he is the only candidate who voted for a Republican in the 2020 presidential election.
The only public poll of the race was released last week and showed Edwards ahead, though 47% of registered GOP voters surveyed in the district said they were undecided on whom to vote for.
Rhode Island’s 1st District
On the other side of the country, voters in the Rhode Island's 1st District are seeking a replacement for former Rep. David Cicilline, who left Congress at the end of May to lead the Rhode Island Foundation.
Nearly a dozen Democrats are running to fill Cicilline's seat in a competitive and at times fractious primary.
Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos seemed to have the early lead and secured major endorsements from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus' Bold PAC and Emily's List. Combined, the two groups have spent more than $750,000 on TV ads backing Matos, according to AdImpact.
Other notable candidates include former White House staff member Gabe Amo, who is backed by the Congressional Black Caucus, and former state lawmaker Aaron Regunberg. Regunberg touts the endorsement of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.
Many of the other candidates running are current state or local lawmakers, including Matos, state Rep. Stephen Casey, state Sen. Ana Quezada, state Sen. Sandra Cano and Providence City Council member John Goncalves.
Since the special election isn't happening concurrently with other elections, the politicians aren't risking their current elected offices by running, which is one likely reason why the field is so large.
Like the Utah race, though, there is not much daylight between the candidates on the issues, which is why endorsements and issues of campaign finance and eligibility have taken center stage.
Matos' campaign was embroiled early in a scandal over fraudulent petition signatures. The lieutenant governor and her campaign staff blamed an outside vendor for the errors, but her rivals have sought to use the incident to dull her hopes of winning the Democratic nomination.
