Current:Home > ScamsUtah Gov. Spencer Cox is expected to win reelection after his surprising endorsement of Trump -Secure Growth Academy
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox is expected to win reelection after his surprising endorsement of Trump
View
Date:2025-04-13 02:14:22
Follow live: Updates from AP’s coverage of the presidential election.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah Gov. Spencer Cox is expected to easily win reelection in the deeply red state, but his surprising choice to back Donald Trump this year has voters wondering what they should expect over the next four years from a leader they long thought to be a moderate Republican.
Cox is favored to win over Democrat Brian King, a trial lawyer and state representative who served for eight years as Utah’s House minority leader.
The governor also faces conservative write-in candidate Phil Lyman, who urged his supporters to vote for him instead of Cox after losing the Republican primary in June. Lyman’s campaign threatens to pull some Republican support away from Cox, but it likely won’t be enough to affect the outcome.
While moderate Republicans have historically fared well in Utah’s statewide elections, Cox has recently sought to convince voters that he is more conservative than his record shows.
The governor bewildered voters and political observers when he pledged his support to Trump after the July assassination attempt on the former president. Cox did not vote for Trump in 2016 or 2020.
Cox’s sudden turnabout has risked his reputation with his moderate voting base while likely doing little to win over followers of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement, many of whom booed Cox at the state GOP convention this year.
The governor has dug in his heels in the months since he backed Trump. He reaffirmed his commitment to Trump in September even as the former president faced scrutiny for ramping up rhetoric against immigrants — behavior Cox said he hoped Trump would abandon when he endorsed him in July.
Cox also has appeared with Trump on the campaign trail and at Arlington National Cemetery, where each appearance was ensnared in a controversy. After Trump’s staff had an altercation with a cemetery official, Cox broke rules — and likely federal law — in using a graveside photo with Trump in a campaign fundraising email.
Trump has not in turn endorsed Cox’s bid for a second term in the governor’s office.
Polls statewide open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.
veryGood! (1796)
Related
- Kylie Jenner Shows Off Sweet Notes From Nieces Dream Kardashian & Chicago West
- NBA Draft is moving to two nights in 2024. Here's what to know about this year's edition.
- 10 injured, including children, after house collapsed in Syracuse, New York, officials say
- Mayor-elect pulled off bus and assassinated near resort city of Acapulco
- Megan Fox's ex Brian Austin Green tells Machine Gun Kelly to 'grow up'
- Nelly and Ashanti Quietly Married 6 Months Ago
- Austin Butler Shares Insight Into Being an Uncle to Ashley Tisdale's Kids
- Here's how to keep cool and stay safe during this week's heat wave hitting millions
- 'We're reborn!' Gazans express joy at returning home to north
- These $14.99 Home Finds From Kandi Burruss Aren't Just Known in Atlanta, They're Worldwide
Ranking
- 'Squid Game' without subtitles? Duolingo, Netflix encourage fans to learn Korean
- Nvidia tops Microsoft as the most valuable public company
- House collapses in Syracuse, New York, injuring 11 people
- On Juneteenth, monument dedicated in Alabama to those who endured slavery
- A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
- Michigan man wins largest prize ever on lottery website, $7.19M, by taking dad's advice
- Cheer on Team USA for the 2024 Paris Olympics with These Très Chic Fashion Finds
- Aaron Judge, Yankees avoid catastrophic injury after slugger hit in hand by pitch
Recommendation
This was the average Social Security benefit in 2004, and here's what it is now
Horoscopes Today, June 18, 2024
As Putin heads for North Korea, South fires warning shots at North Korean soldiers who temporarily crossed border
Officials release autopsy of Missouri student Riley Strain
From family road trips to travel woes: Americans are navigating skyrocketing holiday costs
In ‘Janet Planet,’ playwright Annie Baker explores a new dramatic world
Disney settles Magic Key class action lawsuit, find out if you qualify
Kristin Cavallari Sets Record Straight on Her Boob Job and Tummy Tuck Rumors