CEDAR CITY – U.S. Rep. Chris Stewart has once again won Utah’s congressional seat in the 2nd District and is pointing to his conservative constituency as the reason for his win.
As of 1 a.m., with a total of 173,440 votes being reported by the state, it appears Stewart won by taking 62 percent of the vote.
Democratic candidate Charlene Albarran and Paul J. McCollaum Jr., who ran on the Constitutional Party ticket, threw their hats in the race last year against the Republican incumbent. Albarran received 58,356 votes and McCollaum received 7,275 votes.
Stewart has served in Congress since 2013. He credits his win to the largely conservative base he represents.
“My opponent campaigned on liberal policies in a very conservative district and I am a conservative and I believe I’ve been a good fit representing those conservative values,” Stewart said. “I have made many friends through the years throughout the entire district who know me and know how hard I work for them.”
While the congressman admitted he wasn’t concerned about losing the race, he said Albarran ran an aggressive race, albeit a negative one.
“My opponent ran a very aggressive campaign but also a negative campaign,” Stewart said. “I have to say she was probably one of the more negative opponents I’ve ran against but I think the people of Utah are turned off by negative campaigning and would much rather see positive campaigns that are about the issues.”
Stewart said he is celebrating tonight’s victory with his family in Salt Lake City at the Rice Eccles Stadium.
“Any chance I get to spend with family I do because my family has made a great deal of sacrifices for me to do this job, without them there’s no way I could do this,” he said.
UPDATE: Charlene Albarran, the Democratic Nominee for Utah’s Second Congressional District, issued the following statement in regards to the results of the 2016 election:
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP sends his regards !
President Trump says get a job and get off the dope.