Democrat donors back GOP Utah Gov Cox's campaign for reelection

Incumbent Utah Governor Spencer Cox's 2024 campaign in the Beehive state has been bankrolled by left-wing Democrats.  

In December 2024, Cox was given two $50,000 donations from David E. Cumming as well as John Cumming, both of whom register their address in Wyoming with the Cumming Foundation, as reported first by the Federalist.  

The foundation's vice president Annette Cumming has also previously been the chair on the board of Planned Parenthood in Utah and now sits on the current Planned Parenthood Federal Political Action Committee.  

John Cumming was one of the Democrats' “biggest donors” during the 2020 election cycle, according to data on Open Secrets with nearly $370,000 in donations. The only other Republican to receive funding from the left-wing donor is Senator Mitt Romney. 

David Cumming's previous contributions include the likes of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama during their presidential runs.

Cox has raised $1.7 million this election cycle, as reported by Deseret News.  

Previously in 2020, Cox also received the large sum of $75,000 from the largest teacher's union in the country, the National Education Association, making the NEA one of the Utah governor's largest donors, according to Follow the Money.  

The organization frequently supports left-wing candidates with donations and has pushed for teachers to read books such as Gender Queer and White Fragility. 

Early in the governor's tenure in the Beehive state, he was heavily criticized for pushing back against conservative actions. One such example is when he vetoed a bill that would have barred trans-identified males from playing in girls' sports. The veto was overruled in the state legislature and become law.  

During a speech at the University of Utah for Turning Point USA, earlier this year, college swimmer Riley Gaines slammed Cox for the veto on the law.  

One of his first acts in office was to sign and push the "Utah Compact on Racial Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion" when he took office. He has been taken to task online by many criticisms over not being conservative in one of the more conservative states in the nation.  

More recently, Cox has taken a tact against DEI leading into the upcoming governor's race in Utah and has said that required diversity statements are "bordering on evil" for college hiring.  

The left-wing Utah outlet the Salt Lake Tribune, seized on this comment in reports, however, the Utah governor's senior advisor of communications, Jennifer Napier-Pearce, was formerly an executive editor for the outlet.  

In recent coverage, the Tribune reported campaign donations of the candidates, but primarily took aim at the Cox's primary Republican challenger, Phil Lyman, who has been critical of the governor for being soft on immigration as well as other issues.