Utah Gov. Spencer Cox will stay in his seat, after the 2024 general election was called for him on Tuesday night by the Associated Press at about 10:30 p.m.
At 11:15 p.m., Cox had 56% of the votes while Democratic candidate Brian King had 31.4% and write-in candidate Phil Lyman had 8%.
Tonight was a great night for the state of Utah” said Cox, standing on the steps of the Governor’s Mansion, adding it “put an exclamation point” on what his administration, the people of Utah and lawmakers have worked toward for the last four years.
“We were not just elected to represent people who voted for us,” said Cox. He promised to listen and learn from everyone, and said they were better leaders because they had listened to those who didn’t agree with them.
Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson said they came into office four years ago with the idea that Utah would stay special. She said it was a challenging four years but they were excited to do it again.
Cox added he received a call from Rep. Brian King and “it was incredibly kind and gracious.”
“We came up a little short in this race this year,” King, the Democratic candidate for governor told supporters gathered at an election night party at Hotel Monaco in downtown Salt Lake City. He said he had called and congratulated Cox.
King said the campaign has been about “standing up for the values that define who we are as Utahns, service, family, freedom, democracy and common sense:” that reflect his own pioneer roots. “I got into this race because Utah deserves better.”
The “coalition of pragmatists” that the campaign built is one of things King said he’s most of from his bid to unseat Cox. He thanked voters willing to “look beyond party labels.”
As an attorney, King said he works hard for the “Davids” of the world who are pitted against “Goliaths,” saying Democrats recognize what it’s like to be in that position. He said he is “incredibly proud” of his campaign’s accomplishments.
Tuesday’s results marks the end of a contentious gubernatorial race, which followed a Republican primary election accompanied by litigation.
Heading into the Republican convention this past April, Cox faced challengers from state Rep. Phil Lyman, R-Blanding, former state GOP chair Carson Jorgensen, Marine Corps artillery officer Scott Robbins and Bountiful business owner Sylvia Miera-Fisk.
Cox had already qualified for the primary ballot through gathering 28,000 signatures certified by the Davis County Clerk’s Office. At convention, Jorgensen, Robbins and Miera-Fisk were eliminated after the delegates voted in one round.
Receiving 67.5% of the vote, Lyman became the Utah GOP gubernatorial nominee for the June 25 primary — to win the nomination, a candidate has to receive 60% or more of the delegate vote.
Cox campaigned on the accomplishments of his administration during its first term in office. He touted signing the largest tax cut in Utah history, his efforts leading litigation and legislation to protect children from the harms of social media and positioned himself as a conservative who delivers on his promises.
Signing a law restricting elective abortions and moving forward on school choice were just two of the issues Cox highlighted. During the primary, he also spoke about what he’s done to make progress on affordable housing in the state, telling reporters the Utah Legislature passed “the most comprehensive housing reform in the United States.”
Lyman campaigned against Cox by criticizing the administration on a number of measures including its approach to illegal immigration in the state as well as transgender policy. At the gubernatorial debate before the primary, Lyman said, “We see things very differently. I’m a bottom-up kind of power dynamic person. Cox is very much a top-down power dynamic person. I think the comparison is stark.”
“Campaigns bring out the worst in people,” said Cox. “We’ve certainly seen that with my opponent’s campaign.”
Cox won the primary election with 54.4% of the total vote. After losing the primary election, Lyman went to the Utah Supreme Court to request the court remove Cox and Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson from office as well as toss out the primary election results.
The Utah Supreme Court denied the request saying Lyman “cites no authority to support his assertion that a political party’s internal rules override state election law.”
King saw no contest at the Democratic state convention and became the official Democratic nominee. Libertarian attorney Robert Latham and Independent American Party candidate Tommy Williams also threw their hats into the ring. Lyman launched a write-in campaign.
On the general election debate stage, Cox and King differed on their visions for Utah.
King was critical of Cox for reversing his position on former President Donald Trump (Cox endorsed Trump after years of criticizing him) and promised to do more to help people with affordable housing. He said he would also work to increase abortion access and public education funding.
“You have a choice to keep Utah values, the things that have made us the best state in the nation,” Cox said. “I believe again that the conservative values that we hold dear are exactly what every state in this nation needs and the entire country needs to make our country a better place.”
Heading into Election Day, Cox led King by 32 percentage points in the latest Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll conducted less than a month before the general election.
In the poll, Cox received 51%, King received 19%, Independent American candidate Tommy Williams received 4%, Libertarian Party candidate Robert Latham received 3% and unaffiliated candidate Tom Tomeny received 2%.
Contributing: Lisa Riley Roche
