Spencer Cox (politician)

Spencer James Cox (born July 11, 1975) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 18th governor of Utah since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the eighth lieutenant governor of Utah from 2013 to 2021. In Fairview, Utah, where Cox lives and was raised, he was elected to the city council in 2004 and then as mayor in 2005. In 2008, he was elected as a Sanpete County commissioner.

He was elected to the Utah House of Representatives in 2012. In October 2013, Governor Gary Herbert appointed Cox to replace Greg Bell as lieutenant governor; he was confirmed unanimously by the Utah State Senate. Cox was elected to the lieutenant governorship as Herbert's running mate in 2016, and was elected governor in 2020.

Early life and education
Cox was raised in Fairview, Utah; he graduated from North Sanpete High School. He enrolled at Snow College and completed a mission to Mexico for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while he was a student. During that time, he married his high-school sweetheart, Abby, who also graduated from Snow College. After graduating with an associate's degree, he attended Utah State University (USU), graduating in 1998 with a Bachelor of Arts in political science. At USU, Cox was named Student of the Year and graduated with a 4.0 grade point average.

Cox was accepted by Harvard Law School but instead chose to enroll at Washington and Lee University School of Law. He was a member of the Washington and Lee Law Review and graduated in 2001 with a Juris Doctor with honors.

Early legal work
After law school, Cox was a law clerk for judge Ted Stewart of the United States District Court for the District of Utah. After his clerkship, Cox joined Fabian and Clendenin, a Salt Lake City law firm. He returned to rural Utah and became a vice president of Centracom.

Political career
Cox was elected as a city councilor of Fairview, Utah in 2004, and mayor the next year. In 2008, he was elected as a Sanpete County commissioner. Cox was elected to the Utah House of Representatives in 2012 and became the first member to call for the impeachment of John Swallow, the attorney general of Utah, over violations of campaign finance laws. Cox and Lieutenant Governor Bell served as co-chairs of Governor Herbert's Rural Partnership Board.

Lieutenant governor of Utah
In October 2013, Herbert selected Cox to succeed Bell as lieutenant governor following Bell's resignation. The Utah Senate's Government Operations Confirmation Committee unanimously approved his nomination on October 15. The next day, the full Utah Senate confirmed him unanimously and he was sworn in. As lieutenant governor, Cox produced a report on Swallow's financial interests, demonstrating that Swallow had failed to properly disclose all of his income and business interests. Swallow resigned before the report's release.

In the 2016 Utah gubernatorial election, Cox was elected to a full term as lieutenant governor as Herbert's running mate.

Governor of Utah
On May 14, 2019, after Herbert announced that he would not seek reelection, Cox announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for governor of Utah in 2020. With 36% of the vote in the primary, he defeated former governor Jon Huntsman Jr., former Utah GOP chair Thomas Wright, and former Utah House speaker Greg Hughes. In the general election, Cox defeated the Democratic nominee, Chris Peterson, 63% to 30%. In a break with tradition, Cox's January 4, 2021, inauguration (with precautions against the COVID-19 pandemic) was held at the Tuacahn Center for the Arts in Ivins, Utah, a small town in Washington County. The stated purpose of this move was to express Cox's desire to be governor for the entire state as opposed to focusing on the Wasatch Front region. Within days of his inauguration, he opened an office on Southern Utah University's Cedar City campus.

Cox said early on that increasing the speed of the state's vaccine distribution was his administration's top priority. As of April 2021, Utah had administered more than 85% of the doses that it has received, according to CDC data. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Utah, Cox faced criticism for the state's decision to award millions of dollars in no-bid contracts in the early days of the crisis and for the controversial purchase of an anti-malaria drug as a possible treatment for COVID-19. Cox says he had no role in approving the $800,000 hydroxychloroquine order, which was later canceled.

In July 2022, Cox was elected vice chair of the National Governors Association, succeeding New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, who was voted chair. In March 2023, Cox signed two bills into law, including the Utah Social Media Regulation Act, which bans social media platforms, such as TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat, from allowing minors to create accounts without parental consent, and blocks children's access during certain hours.

Vetoes
Cox has vetoed five bills as of 2022, all of which were Republican-backed (Republicans have supermajorities in both of Utah’s state legislative chambers).

Cox's first veto was of a bill sponsored by his brother-in-law, Senator Mike McKell, which sought to regulate the way social media platforms moderate content. Cox also vetoed Senate Bill 187: Local Education Agency Policies Amendments, sponsored by Ronald Winterton; Senate Bill 39: Hemp Regulation Amendments, sponsored by David Hinkins; and House Bill 98: Local Government Building Regulation Amendments, sponsored by Paul Ray.

In March 2022, Cox vetoed House Bill 11: Student Eligibility in Interscholastic Activities, sponsored by Kera Birkeland, which aimed to prevent transgender youth athletes from participating in women's sports. Cox noted that of Utah's 75,000 student athletes, only four were transgender and only one competed in women's sports. The legislature overrode his veto.

Political positions
Cox is frequently considered a moderate Republican.

In October 2015, Cox endorsed Marco Rubio in the 2016 Republican presidential primary. After Rubio withdrew, Cox endorsed Ted Cruz in March 2016.

Cox said of Donald Trump's campaign, "We care a lot about decorum. We care about our neighbors. We are a good, kind people. He does not represent neither goodness nor kindness." He said he would not support Trump if he won the Republican nomination: "I think he's disingenuous. I think he's dangerous. I think he represents the worst of what our great country stands for... I won't vote for Hillary, but I won't vote for Trump, either."

Cox eventually changed course and said in 2020 that he supported Trump, although he claims to have not voted for Trump in either the 2016 or 2020 presidential elections. After the 2021 United States Capitol attack, Cox said that Trump was responsible for inciting the violence and called on him to resign.

Abortion
Cox identifies himself as pro-life and opposes abortion except in the cases of rape, incest, or life of the mother.

In May 2022, after the leaking of the draft opinion to overturn Roe v. Wade, Cox expressed support for the decision, but decried the leak, saying, "While we are encouraged and optimistic at the possibility that the abortion law will be left to the duly elected representatives of the states, draft rulings are not actual rulings and leaked drafts are a dangerous violation of court protocol and deliberations."

On June 24, 2022, Cox expressed his support for the overturning of Roe v. Wade and said: "This administration has been dedicated to giving a voice to the most vulnerable in our society, including the unborn. We wholeheartedly support this Supreme Court ruling and are encouraged to see abortion law will be left to elected state representatives. As pro-life advocates, this administration is equally committed to supporting women and families in Utah. We all need to do more to support mothers, pregnant women, and children facing poverty and trauma."

In March 2023, Cox signed a bill banning abortion clinics from operating in Utah and requiring abortions to be performed in a hospital. The law was issued a temporary injunction by Third District Court Judge Andrew Stone a day before it was to take effect.

Environment
Cox opposes the use of the Antiquities Act to create national monuments, saying that he believes monument designations hurt the landscapes they are meant to protect. He has expressed opposition to the restored boundaries of Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument, and to the creation of Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument.

Guns
In February 2021, Cox signed a constitutional carry bill to allow individuals to carry a firearm in public without a permit, making Utah the 17th state to do so.

In June 2022, Cox said in a press conference that he was open to discussing a red flag law with the legislature.

LGBT issues
On June 13, 2016, Cox spoke at a vigil in Salt Lake City honoring those who died in the Orlando nightclub shooting the day before. He surprised many when he apologized for mistreating schoolmates and his lack of support for the LGBTQ community. He aimed part of his speech at the "straight community": "How did you feel when you heard that 49 people had been gunned down by a self-proclaimed terrorist? That’s the easy question. Here is the hard one: Did that feeling change when you found out the shooting was at a gay bar at 2 a.m. in the morning? If that feeling changed, then we are doing something wrong." Cox has further shown support for the LGBTQ+ community by supporting Governor Herbert's signing an executive order on January 21, 2020, to ban conversion therapy after a bill to do so died in the State Senate in May 2019.

In an April 2021 town hall meeting, Cox announced his personal pronouns are "he", "him", and "his".

In March 2022, Cox vetoed HB11, which would ban transgender youth from participating in high school sports, noting that only four trans kids were playing high school sports in the state at the time. "These kids, they're just trying to stay alive", he said, referring to studies showing that 56% of trans youth have attempted suicide.

On June 1, 2022, Cox became the first Utah governor to recognize June as LGBTQ+ Pride Month when he issued an official proclamation and encouraged Utahns to "be more welcoming and accepting of the LGBTQ community".

On January 28, 2023, Cox signed Senate Bill 16, which bans gender-affirming surgery for patients under 18.

On March 22, 2023, Cox signed HB228, codifying Utah's existing conversion therapy ban, previously approved through a 2020 administrative rule. It was the first conversion therapy ban in the country to pass a state legislature unanimously.

Personal life
Cox is the oldest of eight children and grew up on a farm in Fairview. He and his wife, Abby, have four children, and reside on their family farm in Fairview. Cox's father, Eddie, served on the Utah Transportation Commission and was also a Sanpete County commissioner.

Cox plays bass guitar in a garage band. His brother-in-law, Travis Osmond, the son of Merrill Osmond, taught him to play bass. State Senator Mike McKell is also a brother-in-law. Cox's fourth cousin, Jon Cox, succeeded him in the Utah House of Representatives.