Who is Spencer Cox.

Above: Deidre Henderson, Lt. Governor, Utah; Spencer Cox, Governor, Utah. File image

On 05 September 2024, twenty or so putatively rare, conservative/libertarian Parkites sat around a table in an colloquium with Governor Cox and Lt. Governor Henderson. I was one of the attendees.

Selected Takeaways and SDT commentary

Disruptive Political Environment. Governor Cox acknowledged disturbances in the UT political environment and apologized to any he had offended. Perhaps the Governor was attempting to smooth over his harsh critical remarks directed to Utah conservative convention delegates who had roundly rejected him as their preferred candidate to run for a second term for governor in the general election. By a two to one vote, Utah's Republican Convention delegates voted for Phil Lyman to be the party's nominee for Governor in the general election. There is a clear schism in Utah's Republican party re support or not for Governor Cox. In the Republican primary vote in July 2024, Cox defeated his opponent, Phil Lyman by 55% to 45%. Ardently questioning the legitimacy of the Cox candidacy, Lyman is running a write-in campaign in the general election. Pundits have raised the possibility that in the general election, dividing the Republican vote for governor between Cox and Lyman could give the race to the Democrat candidate, Brian King.

Recapture of Utah lands from federal government. Governor Cox said he felt confident about the eventual success of Utah's recently introduced lawsuit against the federal government to recapture 18.5 million acres, now controlled by the federal government (Bureau of Land Management [BLM]). This move is "directionally correct" for conservatives who see no constitutional argument for the federal government to own 63% (33 million of 53 million acres) of Utah's land. Utah can do a better job than the state managing Utah's BLM public lands.

Utah Housing Crisis. Governor Cox touted his program to build 35 thousand starter homes in Utah over the next five years. His program costing $150 million would be distributed as follows:

$50 million for first-time homebuyer assistance programs.
$75 million to the State Infrastructure Bank to provide low-interest loans for publicly owned infrastructure that supports housing.
$5 million toward design and innovation of starter homes.
$15 million toward “sweat equity” programs in both rural and urban areas.
$5 million for community land trust expansion.

To be sure, Utah has a major housing problem. There is a shortage of homes. Some blame the coronavirus pandemic as many new immigrants rushed to Utah from both coasts. Housing prices (rent or buy) have skyrocketed since 2020. Utahns are spending around 50% of their income on housing each month.

Give Governor Cox credit for doing something about the housing crisis? Rock hard conservatives or libertarians might view Cox's housing programs as too much government. Opponents of government involvement to solve Utah's housing crisis would look to changing restrictive zoning which would allow the free market to sort out housing shortages.

Utah Election Integrity. A questioner asked Governor Cox about his primary election opponent's (Phil Lyman) demand and supporting lawsuit to force the Cox/Henderson campaign to release signatures obtained to bypass the state convention and legitimize Cox's entry into the July 2024 Republican primary election. Phil Lyman claims probable cause of Cox campaign signature gathering shenanigans due to irregularities by the Cox campaign signature gathering contractor on another political race. Governor Cox and Lt. Governor Henderson noted that SB54 allowed for access to the primary ballot via signature gathering and that privacy regulations precluded signature release. Their actions were in total accordance with the law, Cox and Henderson reported. Governor Cox also dismissed the accusation saying that double the signatures could have easily been obtained ie. this is not a big deal. The Cox/Henderson campaign may be correct that under the law privacy of citizens' signatures cannot be violated. If so, the law needs to be changed because under current interpretation of the law the claim of voting irregularities cannot be refuted. Who knew that Utah had a voting integrity problem?

Classical Liberal Education in Utah Higher Ed. Asked about UT State Senator John Johnson's 2024 failed legislation to mandate a classical liberal education curriculum in Utah universities, Cox said, "We're going to get that done. I'm all for it. We're working with Senator Johnson to get that bill, or a facsimile of that bill, passed next legislative session." Conservatives will favor this initiative subject to seeing the fine print. John Johnson has deservedly garnered national attention for this worthy effort and Governor Cox is to be congratulated for getting on board.

Final Comment by SDT. Spencer Cox was on top of his issues and an able, confident, earnest, and smooth presenter of his positions at today's Park City residential colloquy. Still, Utah conservatives have questioned Cox's conservative credentials. Cox started his four-year 2020 term by announcing his pronouns at a public-school event. In the 2022 legislative session Cox vetoed a bill seeking to ban transgender males from participating in girls' high school sports. The Utah state legislature later overrode that bill. More recently, however, Cox has visibly embraced conservative priorities. After first steering clear of Trump, Governor Cox has since endorsed Trump for president, taken a strong stand against gun control, has backed elimination of DEI in public universities, has positioned himself to lead initiatives to recapture public lands to place under state control, and backed the Johnson effort to restore classical liberal education curriculum to Utah universities. "Who is Spencer Cox?" remains an open question, but recent Cox positioning has avoided the type of controversial positions he took at the beginning of his term.