Cox pledges to take campaign and motorhome to all 248 incorporated communities in Utah

6-13-2019

MORGAN—Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox of Fairview kicked off his campaign run for governor in Morgan County last week with an ambitious pledge.

Cox said he his wife, Abby, would visit not just all 29 counties, but all 248 incorporated cities and towns in Utah. And while the Coxes are in many of the towns, they will do some community service.

In fact, the Coxes have already planted trees in Francis and stocked food pantry shelves in Park City, both in Summit County; assembled lunches and hygiene kits in Heber City and helped remove old flowers from the cemetery in Wahlsburg, both in Wasatch County; filled potholes in Naples, Uintah County; and painted fire hydrants in Duchesne, Duchesne County.

Cox’s campaign is attracting interest and possibly some soft support, even from Democrats. In Sanpete County, Serenity Kimball, Democratic county chairman, along with Joe Bennion and Lisa Potter, both Spring City artists, have shared a video of Cox standing in front of his campaign motor home on their Facebook pages.

In a “Take 2” broadcast with Heidi Hatch of KUTV at the end of May, Jim Debakis, a former Democratic state senator and Democratic state party chairman, conceded the Utah party doesn’t yet have a viable candidate for governor and quipped that if Abby Cox would run, he might support her.

Cox announced his pledge to visit every city and town in a video shot in front of the big green motor home, which features a list of the 248 towns on back.

“When we decided to run for governor, Abby and I talked about something we could do that’s different,” Cox says in the video. “Everybody visits all 29 counties, and we want to do something that’s never been done before. And so we are excited to announce today, as an announced candidate for governor, we are going to be visiting all 248 incorporated cities and towns in the great state of Utah.”

“…Our next governor needs to be able to look the people of Utah in the eye,” he says, “and understand where they’re from, and understand their stories.”

Cox reiterates his pledge to run a clean campaign focused on issues not attacks. “But we want to go one step further,” he says. “We want to make this campaign a force for good. So as we’re visiting all 248 of you, we’re going to be doing service projects.”