Spencer James Cox

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spencer_Cox_(politician)

Spencer James Cox (born July 11, 1975) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 18th governor of Utah since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the eighth lieutenant governor of Utah from 2013 to 2021.

Cox was raised and lives in Fairview, Utah. He was elected to the city council in 2004 and mayorship the next year. After overseeing rural economic development in Fairview, Cox was elected a county commissioner for Sanpete County in 2008. He was elected to the Utah House of Representatives in 2012.

In October 2013, Governor Gary Herbert selected Cox to replace Greg Bell as lieutenant governor; he was confirmed unanimously by the Utah State Senate. Cox was elected to the lieutenant governorship as Herbert's running mate in 2016. In 2020, after Herbert decided to retire, Cox sought the Republican nomination for governor. He defeated former governor Jon Huntsman Jr., former Utah GOP chair Thomas Wright, and former Utah House speaker Greg Hughes in the primary election and Democratic nominee Chris Peterson in the general election.

Cox has described himself as "centrist, moderate, liberal Republican", a stance that has earned him critics on the Republican Party's right wing.