Sanpete County mayors are among 125 in Utah endorsing Spencer Cox

By Robert Green

Staff writer

11-21-2019

All the mayors of Sanpete County are endorsing Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox in his bid to become Utah’s next governor.

However, Spencer Cox is running as the underdog to win the Republican nomination since Jon Huntsman Jr. entered the race, said Spencer’s campaign spokesman Austin Cox (no relation).

“We know we are the underdog,” Austin said, “Maybe we don’t have the resources of a candidate like Jon Huntsman, but we feel very good about our plan. The people have shown a great deal of support for us.”

In fact, according to recent polls, Spencer has a five point lead among Republicans voters over other GOP candidates, Austin said. The Republican primary is scheduled for June 23.

Spencer’s camp announced that 125 mayors, many of them from rural Utah, are endorsing him for governor, Austin said. The retiring Gov. Gary Herbert has also publicly endorsed him.

Spencer’s tour to visit all 248 cities and towns in Utah is continuing on schedule and will proceed until the primary in June. So far, Spencer has visited 198 cities.

Fundraising is also going well, as Spencer’s campaign raised more money on the day that Huntsman announced his candidacy (Nov. 14) than the first day of his own campaign (May 14), Austin said.

“We know that it is a crowded field now and we will be working hard to win the primary,” Austin said.

Spencer will be running against Huntsman, Salt Lake County Councilwoman Aimee Winder Newton and businessman Jeff Burningham.

The Mayor of Ephraim, John Scott knows the Lt. Gov. very well and whole-heartily endorses him. “I know that he is grounded, honest and will represent the values of rural Utah,” Scott said.

Many other Sanpete mayors know Spencer as well as the Cox family has resided here for seven generations. Spencer has served as the Fairview mayor and later as a Sanpete County Commissioner.

“As a former mayor of a small town, I am proud to have earned the confidence of more than 100 mayors throughout our great state,” Spencer said. “Not only is it critical for the governor to have a personal relationship with city leaders, but also a direct knowledge of the issues they face. My door will always be open to local government and I promise to work day and night to build thriving communities across Utah.”