Spencer Cox, the lieutenant governor of Utah for over six years, is no stranger to rural Utah. He was born and raised in Fairview on a farm that his family had settled long ago. Cox attended to North Sanpete High School, where he met his wife.
From there, he served a church mission in Mexico for two years before attending Snow College, followed by Utah State University, with his wife. Cox then attended law school out of state before returning to Utah once more. He worked for a firm in Salt Lake City and lived in Davis County for a couple of years before moving home to raise his four children, three boys and a girl, on the farm in Fairview.
For the upcoming election, Cox has put his name in the race as a hopeful for the new governor of Utah. Cox stated that coming from Utah impacts everything in terms of how he will lead if elected. He remarked that, every four years, politicians try to always pay attention to rural voters and then tend to forget. He explained that this is critical to him and impacts all that he does. One of his plans is to have a geographically diverse cabinet that comes from all parts of Utah, not just from the Wasatch Front.
Furthermore, Cox stated that he will have a chief of staff that is rural. He said that he has found over time that it is not that others do not care, but they often forget about those that reside within rural Utah. He knows that a lot of decisions are made without representation from rural areas, and his goal is to change that.
“Oftentimes, I am the only rural person in the room when decisions are being made,” Cox said.
When prompted to discuss what he will be focusing on in the coming years to assist rural Utah, Cox remarked that the priority has probably changed a bit over the last two months in regard to COVID-19. He did state that his number one priority has always been economic development.
As someone who grew up in the rural environment, most of his friends’ parents were coal miners or worked at the power plants. That upbringing is what prompted him to run for the office in the first place. It was why he ran for mayor of Fairview, why he was a commissioner and why he ran for the legislature. It was the idea that economic prosperity should not just be for those that live on the Wasatch Front. Rural communities have something to offer with people that are every bit as talented as anywhere else, according to Cox. He wishes to make sure that those opportunities are noted.
When focusing on his running mate, Senator Deidre Henderson, the question arose as to whether or not the duo are on opposing sides in any topic of politics. This was answered with a respectful no from Cox, who said that the two have worked very closely together for many years. Sen. Henderson was elected into the senate in 2012, the same year that Cox was elected into the House of Representatives.
One of the reasons that Sen. Henderson was chosen to be his running mate is that their philosophies are similar and Cox is impressed with her work ethic. With this in mind, Cox said he does believe that there will be differences, which is the nature of being human.
Lt. Governor Spencer Cox and Senator Deidre Henderson are running on a platform that emphasizes two hard-working Utahns that have Utah’s best interests close to their hearts.