# Spencer Cox Republican Governor of Utah since January 2021, reelected November 2024 with ~55% of the vote. Previously Lieutenant Governor (2013–2021) and briefly a Utah State Representative (2013). Often grouped with [[Brian Kemp]], Larry Hogan (former), and [[Phil Scott]] as the small bloc of governors with reputations for institutional restraint relative to the broader MAGA-aligned GOP — though Cox has positioned himself somewhat closer to the Trump orbit since 2024 than the others. ## 2025 redistricting and the Utah court fight In 2018 Utah voters approved **Proposition 4**, which banned partisan gerrymandering and established an independent redistricting commission. The Utah Legislature subsequently passed Senate Bill 200, which repealed Prop 4 and replaced it with a weakened framework. Plaintiffs (the **[[League of Women Voters]] of Utah**, **[[Mormon Women for Ethical Government]]**, and others) sued, and on **2025-08-25** the Utah Supreme Court ruled the legislative repeal of Prop 4 unconstitutional, ordering the legislature to redraw the congressional map by **2025-09-24**. The legislature missed the September deadline and instead passed **SB 1011** (revising the partisan-gerrymandering standards — i.e., redefining the rules to permit what Prop 4 had banned) and **SB 1012** (a new map drawn under the new rules). Cox **signed both bills the same day, 2025-10-06**. LWV and MWEG immediately challenged the new map. On **2025-11-10** the Utah Supreme Court enjoined the legislature's SB 1012 map and **chose its own remedy map** for the 2026 election — an extraordinary judicial intervention. Utah is the only state where the courts directly drew the operative 2026 congressional map. See [[Redistricting Timeline 2025-2026]] for the full chronology. ## Disagree Better Cox's signature national platform has been "Disagree Better," a National Governors Association initiative on de-escalating partisan polarization. The initiative coexists awkwardly with the redistricting episode, in which Cox signed the legislature's revisionist gerrymander rather than vetoing. ## Related - [[Donald Trump]] — Cox endorsed Trump in 2024 after long-standing public reservations - [[Redistricting Timeline 2025-2026]] — Utah-specific entries (LWV ruling, court remedy)