What Celeste Maloy's win in Utah’s special election could mean for Romney's future

Utah Republicans voted against a candidate branded as a staunch critic of former President Donald Trump, nominating Celeste Maloy in a three-way GOP primary in a special election.

Wednesday’s results may indicate trouble for Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), who has isolated himself from Republicans in his state by openly opposing Trump's campaign to win his party’s third consecutive presidential nomination.

Romney has been hesitant to announce his Senate 2024 reelection plans, stating he expects to decide on whether or not to run by this fall. However, Maloy’s victory over former state Rep. Becky Edwards, a GOP member who voted for President Joe Biden in 2020, could suggest Republican voters in Utah are not willing to elect someone who attacks Trump. The former president carried the heavily conservative state in both of his presidential bids.

Edwards ran an unsuccessful centrist campaign in 2022 against one of the most conservative senators, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), expressing her belief that Trump was rightfully impeached for his role in inciting the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. Lee voted against impeaching Trump during both of his trials in the Senate.

On the other hand, Romney made history as the first senator to vote to convict a president of his own party in an impeachment trial in Trump's first impeachment in February 2020.