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SALT LAKE CITY — Two gubernatorial challengers often teamed up against Republican Gov. Spencer Cox during a debate Wednesday evening, as the incumbent frequently pointed to his ongoing efforts on housing and social media regulations to pitch voters on a potential second term.
While Democratic state Rep. Brian King and Libertarian Robert Latham pushed back on Cox's responses on housing, a proposed constitutional amendment on citizen-led ballot initiatives and energy policy, much of the hourlong contest consisted of back-and-forth sparring between Cox and King.
Cox fell back often on his nearly four years in office, taking credit for tax cuts, teacher raises and efforts to combat the alleged harms social media use has had on Utah teens. He said the Utah Legislature during his tenure has passed the "largest tax cut in our state's history, despite my Democratic colleague voting against it."
King slammed Cox's reversal after the governor endorsed former President Donald Trump following an attempted assassination in July, saying the governor "endorsed a man who openly brags about sexually assaulting women" and argued a second Trump presidency presents grave threats to the republic.
Cox reiterated what he said during a news conference in July, telling the audience at the Grand Theatre on Salt Lake Community College's campus that he was moved by the assassination attempt and sought to lower the national political temperature.
He said Wednesday he was "going to do everything I can to help him, help my party, help Democrats to help us come together. It's sad to me that my colleague dismissed the vast majority of voters in our state who are going to support the former president."
Latham, who has received less attention as a third-party candidate, qualified for the contest — which is hosted by the Utah Debate Commission — by earning nearly 7% support in a poll conducted by the commission, which is within the margin of error of the threshold to qualify.
State Rep. Phil Lyman, a Republican from Blanding who lost to Cox in the June GOP primary but is now running as a write-in candidate, was absent from the stage after polling below the commission's threshold.
Latham poked fun at Lyman's unwillingness to admit defeat in his closing statements, telling viewers: "My name is Rob Latham. I'm on your ballot. You don't need to write me in."
Constitutional Amendment D
A proposed constitutional amendment meant to sidestep what many in the Republican-controlled Legislature see as an incorrect state Supreme Court ruling limiting their power to alter citizen-led ballot initiatives has quickly become one of the most high-profile issues in Utah leading up to the November election — and prompted one of the fiercest confrontations during Wednesday's debate.
Cox, who has expressed concern about the Supreme Court's ruling, was attacked from both King and Latham over the language of the ballot question voters will be asked to weigh in on. Both candidates echoed calls from critics of the language — Republican lawmakers included — calling the question misleading compared to the actual text of the proposed amendment.
Attorneys for several groups who have sued over what they call the "flagrantly misleading" language were in court Wednesday afternoon asking a judge to issue a preliminary injunction to strike proposed constitutional Amendment D from the ballot. A decision in the case could come as early as Wednesday night.
King said the language will "gaslight people and deceive people voting for it" while Latham said the amendment "is so offensive" because it would limit the power of voters to alter or reform their government.
"This is deceptive, it is deceitful and it is something that every Utahn should come out to the polls and vote against," King said.
In response to the debate question about the proposed amendment and whether the Legislature should be given power to override ballot initiatives, Cox didn't specifically answer the question but said the founders of the nation intentionally kept "direct democracy" out of the U.S. Constitution, but that initiatives and referenda are "very important" in the state of Utah.
"The best states in this country, all ranks, have less initiatives, not more," he said. "Initiatives should be rare, but they are important. We have to keep that power available."
The governor went on to accuse King and other opponents of the ballot language of "trying to keep the people from voting on this amendment."
"That's as anti-people as anything we've heard up here," Cox said. "But people should have this choice, and if you don't support it, then vote no. But trying to keep the people from voting on it, I think, is incredibly deceiving."
Following the debate, Cox was vague about whether he would personally vote for or against the proposal, saying "I think I did answer" in the debate, in response to questions from reporters.
The governor appeared to concede that he is not fully on board with the wording of the ballot question, which was written by Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz and Senate President Stuart Adams.
"If I could have written it, I would have done things differently, I'll just leave it at that," he said. "I think on balance, it's worth supporting, but it's close, and I see why people are opposed."
When pressed to answer how he planned to mark his ballot, Cox said: "I just answered that."
Cox during the debate criticized King for voting for a 2020 bill that allows the Legislature to call themselves into special session, saying sarcastically: "I'm very glad to hear that Rep. King is opposed to expanding the power of the Legislature."
King accused Cox of "deceiving you in the same way that the Legislature is," and called the governor "a lapdog for the most extreme and most divisive voices in the Legislature."
Housing and the economy
Moderator Jason Perry, the director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics, addressed several growth-related concerns early on in the debate with questions about the economy, energy, transportation and housing. Cox primarily defended the state of the economy in Utah, promoting his initiative to build 35,000 starter homes in the next four years.
"I'm proud that Utah has led the nation ... in economic growth," he said. "It is incredible what has happened here; this is the 'Golden Age' of Utah."
King countered that "statistics aren't everything," questioning Cox about why so many Utahns are "struggling to make ends meet" in a relatively strong economy.
"We do not want to have families who have to work a second or third job simply to provide Christmas for their children," King said.
On housing, King and Latham shared Cox's belief that Utah needs more supply, but offered diverging proposals to get there. Latham called the state's plan to fund low-interest loans to developments with at least 60% of the homes considered affordable "crony developer capitalism" and said a "construction cartel" — with many developers serving in high-powered roles in the Legislature — is to blame for rising prices.
True to his Libertarian roots, Latham recommended loosening regulations around building and spending less money on tax incentives for development, which he said only drive prices higher.
King, on the other hand, proposed tightening regulations when it comes to out-of-state investors buying Utah properties as speculative or investment properties. He told reporters following the debate that such investors are "jacking up the price of our homes. There's got to be something that we can do."
"Now, some would say that sounds different than letting free markets do what they want to do," he said. Free markets are great, but ... we also have to recognize the limitations on that, and when free markets are causing instability and are causing prices to go through the roof for regular, working, everyday Utahns, we've got to address that."
Wednesday's debate was the first of several debates in races for statewide and federal offices — all hosted by the nonpartisan Utah Debate Commission. The rest will happen in October, ahead of Election Day on Nov. 5.
