Screenshot of Utah Debate Commission livestream

A debate between three of Utah’s candidates for governor ranged from former President Donald Trump to housing policy Wednesday evening, with current Gov. Spencer Cox spending much of his time rebutting criticism on two fronts as Democratic candidate Rep. Brian King and Libertarian Robert Latham targeted his record in office.

Both King and Latham slammed Cox over issues like energy, his support for former President Donald Trump, economic policies and a controversial proposal to amend the Utah Constitution.

Together they blasted Cox for his support of coal, including his signing of SB161, a bill that extends the life the coal-fired Intermountain Power Plant — King said the state should follow the free market, which is leaning more toward renewable energy, while Latham accused both Cox and the legislature of “crony capitalism” and giving a “gift” to lawmakers in coal country.

Cox, in response, said Rocky Mountain Power needs to keep the coal plant open because it can’t get permits for a nuclear project in time. The idea of removing an energy source prematurely “will quadruple the price of energy in our state.”

“We do not have enough electricity production, and people like Rep. King want to stop that production from happening. It’s insane,” Cox said.

Screenshot of Utah Debate Commission livestream

The incumbent governor was also scrutinized for signing a recent resolution spurring a proposed constitutional amendment set to be included on Utah ballots for the general election, though it is being challenged in court. The proposal, Amendment D, has been called misleading by advocates, who say it would weaken voters’ ballot initiative power despite the language on the ballot question claiming it would do the opposite.

If approved, the amendment to the Utah Constitution would clarify that the Legislature has ultimate authority to change, repeal or replace any ballot initiative that’s passed in the state. It comes following a Utah Supreme Court ruling that said the Legislature didn’t have that power when it comes to undermining initiatives that reform government.

King called it “nothing but a power grab,” “deceptive” and something that all Utahns should vote against. Latham agreed, describing the language used by Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, and House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, as “deceitful.”

Cox deferred mostly to the Legislature, telling the audience that “the governor doesn’t have an opportunity to weigh in on constitutional amendments. That’s totally the purview of the legislature.”

King, in response, said Cox was “deceiving you in the same way the legislature is.” Cox signed the bills enabling the constitutional amendment, King said, “he’s complicit with the legislature in this power grab. And that’s not unusual. He’s a lapdog for the most extreme and most divisive voices in the legislature.”

And Latham, adding to King’s argument, said that Cox had submitted what’s called a “friend of the court” brief to the state supreme court, asking them to side with the legislature. “He’s already displayed that he’s with the people who put this very deceitful constitutional amendment forward,” Latham said.

Cox, with the last word, said it should be left to the voters, and accused his opponents of attempting to deny Utah voters a voice in the matter.

“The people should have this choice. If you don’t support it, vote no, but trying to keep the people from voting on it is incredibly deceitful,” he said.

During media availability after the debate, Cox was pressed on whether he supports the amendment or not. He hinted at his support for the amendment, but didn’t explicitly say how he would mark his ballot, telling reporters “I understand why people are opposed to it, I understand why people support it.”

“I am very worried about our state becoming more like California,” Cox said. “I’m very worried that every initiative is going to be litigated. We’ve already seen initiatives being filed using that language from the supreme court, even though it has nothing to do with the function of government. People are trying to include that. And so, if I could have written it, I would have done some things differently. I’ll just leave it there. I don’t get that opportunity. I don’t get an opportunity to weigh in on this at all … so yeah, I think on balance, it’s worth supporting but it’s close and I see why people are opposed to it.”

When a reporter followed up asking whether he would vote yes or no, Cox said: “I just answered that.”

Cox was also forced to defend his endorsement of former President Donald Trump, who he had previously said he would not be voting for, but later changed his mind after the assassination attempt targeting Trump earlier this summer.

Latham said the question of whether Cox would support Trump or not was an example of “gaslighting,” excluding Utahns who don’t have a home in either party. He called on incumbent politicians to articulate how they would “include all Utahns — women, underrepresented minorities — in our state government so that we have a government that reflects all of Utah, not just some of Utah.”

King said it was commendable that Cox refused to support Trump and that the governor’s change of heart contradicts his calls to “disagree better.”

“He endorsed a man who openly brags of sexually assaulting women. He endorses a man who tried to overthrow our constitutional republic. This is the worst example we’ve seen on the stage of American politics in our lifetimes. We need to walk the walk, not just talk the talk, and the governor right now is simply acting inconsistently with his statements,” King said.

Cox, in response, said he reached out to Trump encouraging him to unify the country and “disagree better,” the name of his National Governors Association campaign. Cox said his hope was to help Trump, Republicans and Democrats come together and de-polarize.

“I’m committed to that. It’s sad to me that my colleague would dismiss the vast majority of voters in our state who are going to support the former president. But I’m going to do everything I can to help him and everybody else come together and treat each other with respect,” Cox said.

Utah News Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.

Newsletter