Maloy prevailed in September’s competitive primary over other high-profile candidates, despite being relatively unknown to voters. She also overcame controversy when opponents unsuccessfully tried to kick her off the ballot after they learned that she wasn’t registered to vote as a Republican in Utah when she filed to run for the seat. During her campaign, she’s leaned on her grassroots connections in rural southern Utah, as well as her experience in Washington as a former aide to Stewart. “I've avoided a lot of the social issues and red meat issues that people get wound up about,” Maloy said in an interview with Score. “There's sort of a misconception out there that you have to feed voters political junk food all the time. … You can still win a race on talking about our system of government and how it's supposed to work.” Both candidates have emphasized their willingness to work across the aisle and have centered kitchen-table issues during their campaign. But Riebe, a moderate state senator and educator, has also utilized a common message Democrats across the country have deployed: Maloy, and her stance on abortion rights, is “too extreme.” Maloy called the attack over abortion a “distraction” and said she’s ignoring it. She said that she is “unapologetically pro-life,” but “there should be exceptions for rape and health of the mother.” She has not waded into the debate regarding after how many weeks abortion should be banned, and said she would not do so until she gets to Congress. She also is mum on who she’s planning to support in the presidential race, only noting that she’ll back the Republican nominee. When asked if she associates herself with the MAGA wing of the Republican Party, Maloy, who describes herself as a "traditional conservative" and a "platform Republican," said she avoids discussing that. “It seems to me like the national media wants to use that as a litmus test for everything,” she said. “Voters don't seem as interested in that.” Maloy has a large fundraising and cash-on-hand advantage over Riebe. But the Democrat has spent more than twice as much as Maloy over the last month. Maloy said that she is not running television ads to be “frugal with donor dollars.” If she wins, she noted, she’ll have to start campaigning for reelection in just a couple of months. A path to victory for Riebe could be challenging in the district, which voted for former President Donald Trump by double digits in 2020. But she said she’s hopeful that a competitive mayoral race in Democratic-leaning Salt Lake City will bolster Democratic turnout. So far, rural voter turnout has surpassed urban turnout. “If we can build a bench and increase our numbers and have a strong showing in this race, that's going to be a win regardless of whether I actually make it across the finish line,” Riebe told Score. Happy Monday. Reach me at mfernandez@politico.com and @madfernandez616. Days until the Iowa Republican presidential caucuses: 56 Days until the Republican National Convention: 238 Days until the Democratic National Convention: 273 Days until the 2024 election: 351
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