Utah governors’ COVID deals, Biden votes, Trump draws national interest

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Utah Governor Spencer Cox is getting more national attention for his nuanced politics and how he wrestles with the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a top story posted Wednesday, Politico described the governors with a tempered tone on topics from the COVID-19 vaccination to social issues that are what set Cox apart from many of his peers. that Republicans navigating their politics after-Donald Trump.

Cox discussed with Utahns national outlet feelings about the countries past and current presidents. Cox did not vote for Donald Trump in 2016, supported Trump in the Republican primary in 2020, but did not vote for Trump or now-President Joe Biden in the 2020 general election.

Most Utahns are interested in cultural wars and some of the things that separate (the nation), Cox told the national outlet.

We work hard to find a common ground. We work hard and have said before that the Republican Party in Utah is big enough for Mitt Romney and Mike Lee and we really believe in that. I was close to the two of them.

Utah, however, voted overwhelmingly for Trump in both elections, even as many Utah Republicans endorsed his brash style. Cox said not surprisingly.

If the choice is between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump and Joe Biden, then Republicans will vote Republican. Donald Trump ended up lower than any Republican in the last 40 years on the overall share of the vote, so most people will tell you they like a lot of the policies that have been done but people have told me they don’t like his Twitter account and they don’t like such personal attacks. That’s definitely more of a style here at the Utah GOP.

As for who will run as president on the Republican ticket in 2024? Cox said he doesn’t have any good predictions, saying there’s no clear favorite in the eyes of the Utahns.

In politics, a couple of years is a lifetime. While I feel pretty confident in predicting what will happen at the state level, at the national level Im at a loss. I made a mistake in 2016 and I don’t know that I have confidence in what will happen … I don’t think anyone predicted that Donald Trump would win a nomination or presidency in 2016 and so it could be Dwayne The Rock Johnson who was the dark horse leader for 2024 running as a Republican or a Democrat. So I really have no idea. I don’t think Utah is a clear favorite.

Cox, a Republican who has received national attention for his calls for political good, was one of seven governors Biden chose to serve on a bipartisan national board, the Council of Governors, which discussed strengthening cooperation. of federal and state on key national security issues.

Governor Spencer Cox, center, threw his hands in the air as he entered the House room after being jokingly introduced as Governor Gary Herbert by Rep. Francis Gibson, R-Mapleton, at the conclusion of the 2021 legislative session at the Capitol House Chamber in Salt Lake City on Friday, March 5, 2021. Steve Griffin, Deseret News It could be worse

Cox also discussed how he navigated confusing waters with a GOP-controlled GOP that pushed through several pieces of legislation to revoke some of his emergency medical powers. A law, dubbed the endgame bill, would end Utah’s COVID-19 restrictions and limited government officials ’ability to issue new orders, including the universal mask mandate. The law requires orders to be approved by legislative bodies.

Utah is now on the list of four other states with statewide bans on mask mandates being investigated by the federal Department of Education for whether their bans violate the civil rights of citizens. learners with disabilities.

It could have been worse, Cox said of the law.

Asked why he signed the bill, Cox said he and his team were excited about the bill, but we got more time before the endgame.

I truly believe we saved lives by doing it that way and so, even if not perfect, it is better than the alternative. There was no Delta variant at that time. … So come to think of it and all those things, knowing what we knew before, taking those extra weeks is really important in vaccinating people.

Today, Cox continues to argue over the Utah Legislature’s control over the ability of state officials to respond to the COVID-19 crisis in real time. As the capacity of hospital states reaches new highs amid the highly contagious delta variants that have spread, Cox struggles whether to give school districts more streamlined tools to clamp the proliferation of COVID-19, including the ability to temporarily require masks once the school case rate reaches a certain threshold.

The Deseret News on Tuesday shed light on conversations that Cox was behind the scenes with legislative leaders about the issue. Wednesday and Thursday, the governor is scheduled to meet with lawmakers at caucus meetings to promote two public health orders he has proposed or field ideas from lawmakers if they don’t like him.

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