SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) – Three candidates are on the ballot hoping to win the Republican primary in the special election to replace Representative Chris Stewart.

We are profiling each candidate on Inside Utah Politics.

Celeste Maloy is one of the candidates. She made it to the primary ballot as the winner of the party convention.

“I’ve spent some time working for Congress. I’ve been Congressman Stewart’s legal counsel, but also I’ve just spent a lot of time doing policy work. I got interested in politics through policy, and I got interested in policy through frustration with politics. I’ve been a deputy county attorney, I’ve been a policy expert for counties in Utah, I’ve spent time in Washington County Republican Party leadership, and I’ve done a lot of work that’s politically adjacent even though this is the first time I’ve run for office,” said Maloy.

Having worked in Congress she knows the job can be difficult, but she says she’s committed.

“I know that’s something that I’m signing up for, but I also know when it’s done well it can really make people’s lives better. I worked on a plan in Washington County, a Bureau of Land Management plan, and I didn’t expect to be able to get a lot of the things that are in that plan fixed. And, that’s the first time I met Congressman Stewart, and I worked with him on that and we ended up having a congressional field hearing in St. George. Seeing Congress show up like that. Seeing Congress, the legislative branch act as a check on the executive branch, that’s what made me believe again in our system,” she said.