1. Spencer James Cox was born on July 11,1975 and is an American lawyer and politician serving since 2021 as the 18th governor of Utah.
42 Facts About Spencer Cox
1. 2.
Spencer Cox was elected to the Utah House of Representatives in 2012.
3.
In October 2013, Governor Gary Herbert appointed Spencer Cox to replace Greg Bell as lieutenant governor; he was confirmed unanimously by the Utah State Senate.
4.
Spencer Cox was elected to the lieutenant governorship as Herbert's running mate in 2016, and was elected governor in 2020.
5.
Spencer Cox was reelected to a second term in 2024, which he confirmed would be his last, even though Utah has no term limits on governorships.
6.
Spencer Cox was raised in Fairview, Utah; he graduated from North Sanpete High School.
7.
Spencer Cox enrolled at Snow College and completed a mission to Mexico for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while he was a student.
8.
At USU, Spencer Cox was named Student of the Year and graduated with a 4.0 grade point average.
9.
Spencer Cox was accepted by Harvard Law School but instead chose to enroll at Washington and Lee University School of Law.
10.
Spencer Cox was a member of the Washington and Lee Law Review and graduated in 2001 with a Juris Doctor with honors.
11.
Spencer Cox returned to rural Utah and became a vice president of Centracom.
12.
Spencer Cox was elected as a city councilor of Fairview, Utah in 2004, and mayor the next year.
13.
Spencer Cox was elected to the Utah House of Representatives in 2012 and became the first member to call for the impeachment of John Swallow, the attorney general of Utah, over violations of campaign finance laws.
14.
In October 2013, Herbert selected Spencer Cox to succeed Bell as lieutenant governor following Bell's resignation.
15.
On May 14,2019, after Herbert announced that he would not seek reelection, Spencer Cox announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for governor of Utah in 2020.
16.
Spencer Cox said early on that increasing the speed of the state's vaccine distribution was his administration's top priority.
17.
In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Utah, Spencer Cox faced criticism for the state's decision to award millions of dollars in no-bid contracts in the early days of the crisis and for the controversial purchase of an anti-malaria drug as a possible treatment for COVID-19.
18.
Spencer Cox says he had no role in approving the $800,000 hydroxychloroquine order, which was later canceled.
19.
In July 2022, Spencer Cox was elected vice chair of the National Governors Association, succeeding New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, who was voted chair.
20.
In March 2023, Spencer Cox signed two bills into law, including the Utah Social Media Regulation Act, which bans social media platforms, such as TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat, from allowing minors to create accounts without parental consent, and blocks children's access during certain hours.
21.
Spencer Cox has vetoed five bills as of 2022, all of which were Republican-backed.
22.
Spencer Cox vetoed Senate Bill 187: Local Education Agency Policies Amendments, sponsored by Ronald Winterton; Senate Bill 39: Hemp Regulation Amendments, sponsored by David Hinkins; and House Bill 98: Local Government Building Regulation Amendments, sponsored by Paul Ray.
23.
In March 2022, Spencer Cox vetoed House Bill 11: Student Eligibility in Interscholastic Activities, sponsored by Kera Birkeland, which aimed to prevent transgender youth athletes from participating in women's sports.
24.
Spencer Cox noted that of Utah's 75,000 student athletes, only four were transgender and only one competed in women's sports.
25.
In October 2015, Spencer Cox endorsed Marco Rubio in the 2016 Republican presidential primary.
26.
Spencer Cox eventually changed course and said in 2020 that he supported Trump, although he claims not to have voted for Trump in the 2016 or the 2020 presidential election.
27.
On July 14,2024, Spencer Cox released a letter endorsing Trump.
28.
Spencer Cox opposes the use of the Antiquities Act to create national monuments, saying that he believes monument designations hurt the landscapes they are meant to protect.
29.
In February 2021, Spencer Cox signed a constitutional carry bill to allow individuals to carry a firearm in public without a permit, making Utah the 17th state to do so.
30.
At a June 2022 press conference, Spencer Cox said he was open to discussing with the legislature a red flag law to permit a state court to order the temporary seizure of firearms from any person believed to present a danger.
31.
On March 28,2025, Spencer Cox signed into a law a bill introduced by Republican state lawmaker Stephanie Gricius banning from Utah's public water any addition of fluoride, a mineral added to public water since 1945 to prevent cavities.
32.
On June 13,2016, Spencer Cox spoke at a vigil in Salt Lake City honoring those who died in the Orlando nightclub shooting the day before.
33.
Spencer Cox aimed part of his speech at the "straight community":.
34.
Spencer Cox has further shown support for the LGBTQ+ community by supporting Governor Herbert's signing an executive order on January 21,2020, to ban conversion therapy after a bill to do so died in the State Senate in May 2019.
35.
In March 2022, Spencer Cox vetoed HB11, which would ban transgender youth from participating in high school sports, noting that only four trans kids were playing high school sports in the state at the time.
36.
On June 1,2022, Spencer Cox became the first Utah governor to recognize June as LGBTQ+ Pride Month when he issued an official proclamation and encouraged Utahns to "be more welcoming and accepting of the LGBTQ community".
37.
On January 28,2023, Spencer Cox signed Senate Bill 16, which bans gender-affirming surgery for patients under 18.
38.
On March 22,2023, Spencer Cox signed HB228, codifying Utah's existing conversion therapy ban, previously approved through a 2020 administrative rule.
39.
Men don't belong in women's sports", which Spencer Cox shared, adding: "This should never happen to any of our female athletes.
40.
Spencer Cox is the oldest of eight children and grew up on a farm in Fairview.
41.
Spencer Cox's father, Eddie, served on the Utah Transportation Commission and was a Sanpete County commissioner.
42.
Spencer Cox is a fan of the band The Killers and in 2018 recorded a cover of the song "Read My Mind" with his band.