Utah GOP Gov. Spencer Cox tells CNN he won’t vote Trump in 2024

Referring to Republicans around the country, "They chose a candidate this time around that was not my first choice, wasn't my choice last time either, but the party's spoken and that's why they have chosen so I've said I'm not going to vote for either presidential candidate this year, I'll write somebody in as I've done in the past."

The comments came during a segment with CNN's Kaitlan Collins. Cox added that the last time he voted for the top of the Republican ticket was in 2012 when Mitt Romney was vying for the presidency against Barack Obama. "I've said before I haven't voted for the top of the ticket since 2012. I've certainly had my concerns one of those is what happened on January 6," the Utah governor added.

The Utah governor's primary between Lyman and Cox saw illegal immigration as a big issue. ICE had designated Utah as a "sanctuary state" in a May 2023 memo that said Utah released 67 percent of ICE detainees in fiscal year 2023. Lyman made this a focus of his campaign against Cox, who denied the claims. The incumbent governor had previously signed HB102 in May 2023, a law that extended in-state tuition to illegal immigrants in Utah, but lashed out at the mayor of Denver just before the primary election when illegal immigrants were getting bussed to Utah from the Colorado city.

Other topics of concern raised against Cox in the primary from conservatives included his record on transgender issues after he had vetoed a bill barring men from women's sports in Utah, how he pushed DEI in the beginning of his administration using COVID funds, and how he was being funded by Democrats.

Lyman ran a more pro-Trump campaign in opposition to illegal immigration, as well as focusing on cutting back government spending, and rejecting DEI in schools. Lyman has filed a lawsuit in response to the election results, as many signatures that Cox gathered to qualify for the primary are not publicly available, per the Deseret News. The lawsuit is seeking to obtain the signatures in order to audit the results of the primary.