After law school, Maloy worked in Washington County, Utah, as a deputy county attorney, specializing in issues of public land law involving land and water policy.[6] She advocated on behalf of Utah landowners to the United States House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. She has continued working with issues of land rights and ownership with the Utah Association of Counties and the Washington County Water Conservancy District. Her work as deputy county attorney in Washington County put her in frequent contact with U.S. RepresentativeChris Stewart, and in 2019, she was hired by Stewart as chief legal counsel for both his district and Washington, D.C. offices.[6]
In June 2023, she announced her candidacy for the special election for Utah's 2nd congressional district after Representative Stewart announced his resignation to care for his wife's health issues.[9][10][11] Stewart publicly endorsed Maloy after reports that thirteen Republicans had filed for the contested primary election.[12][13]
On June 24, 2023, Maloy won the Utah Republican nominating convention for the 2nd district in an upset. However, she still had to face a primary election, as two other candidates had gathered enough signatures to make the primary ballot. Maloy won the most votes in a September 6 primary, to win the Republican nomination over former state RepresentativeBecky Edwards.[14] Maloy faced state SenatorKathleen Riebe in the general election on November 21 and won by a comfortable margin.[15] She was sworn in on November 28, 2023.[16]
Maloy faced multiple challengers in her first re-election bid, with her leading competitor being Colby Jenkins, a telecommunications businessman. Jenkins defeated Maloy at the state convention with 57% of the vote, but Utah law requires that any candidate who receives more than 40% of the vote at convention advance to a primary. The primary was held June 25, 2024, and Maloy won by such a small margin that a recount was automatically triggered. [17][18] On August 5, 2024, Utah Lt. GovernorDeidre Henderson announced that the recount had confirmed Maloy's victory by 176 votes, allowing Maloy to advance to the general election against Democratic candidate Nathaniel Woodward and Constitiution Party candidate Cassie Easley.[19]
