When Utah Gov. Spencer Cox called for civility last week following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, the GOP governor pleaded for self-reflection over violence.
It wasn’t the first time.
After the Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016, where 49 people were killed at the Orlando gay bar, Cox — then lieutenant governor — also looked inward. As he spoke to a largely LGBTQ crowd who gathered for a vigil in Salt Lake City, he went back in time and drew from his experiences at his small, rural high school.
Holding back tears, his voice quivering, Cox offered an apology: “There were some kids in my class that were different. Sometimes I wasn’t kind to them.
“I didn’t know it at the time, but I know now that they were gay. I will forever regret not treating them with the kindness, dignity and respect — the love — that they deserved,” Cox said.
Nearly a decade later, amid gaggles of reporters and photographers that had descended on his state following Kirk’s killing, Cox bucked the tone and rhetoric of other Republicans, including President Trump, offering a different voice.
“This is our moment: Do we escalate or do we find an off-ramp?” Cox told reporters when he announced authorities had apprehended a suspect in Kirk’s killing. “It’s a choice.”
People who know Cox say they weren’t surprised he took this approach. And they said his message spoke to something bigger.
“Not only did it represent perfectly who he is, it represented what most everyone — if you can get them to be honest — believes,” said Matt Waldrip, who served as former Sen. Mitt Romney’s (R-Utah) longtime chief of staff and lives close to where the shooting occurred.
“The reason he is appealing is not because he spoke in an exceptional manner; the reason so many people are connecting with him right now is because he is representing the America that all of us really know we are deep down.”
Rhetoric on the left and right has escalated since the shooting. Trump, before a shooter had been identified, blamed “radical left lunatics.”
“We just have to beat the hell out of them,” he told reporters at the White House.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) also delivered her verdict within hours: “Democrats own what happened today.”
Some on the right were unhappy with Cox’s words.
Conservative activist Steve Bannon, who worked as a strategist to Trump during his first term, expressed anger with Cox’s pleas to tone down the heated political dialogue, calling him “a national embarrassment.”
In an interview on CNN over the weekend, Cox pushed back on Bannon and dubbed him a “conflict entrepreneur” who has particular interests in creating division.
“Look, there are conflict entrepreneurs out there who benefit from radicalizing us,” Cox said. “And I’m not one of those. I don’t know that that’s particularly helpful.”
When he was chair of the National Governors Association from 2023-24, Cox started “Disagree Better,” a bipartisan initiative to encourage healthier dialogue in what has become a divisive and contentious political environment.
As part of that mission, Cox made appearances alongside his Democratic counterparts to promote a healthier dialogue. It’s been a philosophy that has been important to Cox for years, say those who know him.
When he campaigned for governor in 2020, Cox and his Democratic opponent appeared alongside each other in television ads where they vowed to “disagree without hating each other,” a rarity in modern politics.
“Even the people who dislike him in Utah dislike him for this very reason, because he’s emotionally available, I will say,” Waldrip said. “He doesn’t fit into the political ecosystem, and he doesn’t care. In this moment, he doesn’t care. I’m positive that’s the last thing on his mind.”
Waldrip said Utahns were looking for “guidance, not grievances,” in the aftermath of the shooting.
“The political nerds, we’re the ones that are out of touch,” he said. “The rest of the country still looks to the leaders for guidance in moments of crisis.”
Speaking about Cox, a former member of the Utah delegation also put it this way: “There’s a genuine and sincere belief from him that we need to fix our broken discourse and the way we relate to each other.
“The bar is so low,” the source said. “Once upon a time, that would have been the norm in a tragedy like this.”
Throughout the week, Cox, who is in his last term as governor, has been at the center of coverage of Kirk’s shooting and the ensuing investigation. He’s made frequent statements to the press while sitting for national interviews.
Political observers and journalists alike have taken note, prompting some speculation about his future.
Matthew Burbank, a professor of political science at the University of Utah, said Cox is an anomaly in politics.
“He is not a typical politician. I don’t think he was somebody who got into politics to get into office and then think about the next office and think about the next office,” Burbank said, adding he doesn’t believe the governor would ultimately run for president.
“One of the reasons he feels he could make that kind of a statement about the problems of social media and people needing to spend time with their families is he’s not worried about running for higher office,” Burbank said. “I think you would play that differently. At least in the current Republican Party you would shape that message differently.”
Republican strategist Susan Del Percio said while she thought his words in the days following the shooting have been “tremendously powerful,” she has her doubts about whether someone like Cox would have a White House bid on his mind.
“Honestly, he seems too decent to run for president,” Del Percio said.
