Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox is often mentioned as a possible candidate for governor in 2020 when Gary Herbert leaves office. If that’s true, he’s going to have to work much harder on his name recognition.
A new UtahPolicy.com survey from Dan Jones & Associates finds almost half of Utahns either have no opinion of the Lt. Governor or have no idea who he is.
The survey finds 38% of Utahns have a favorable opinion of Cox, while just 11% have an unfavorable view of him. 22% said they have heard of him, but have no opinion, while 28% replied they have never heard of him.
That’s not surprising. It’s not often that a Lt. Governor has a higher profile than the governor, ostensibly their boss.
Cox is well-liked by both Republicans and Democrats on Utah’s Capitol Hill, and is a favorite of the media because of his outgoing personality.
But, that hasn’t translated to a more prominent public persona, given all of those who have no clue who he is.
Cox did poke fun at that relative anonymity through a series of ads to boost voter registration when he asked Utahns if they knew who he was with hilarious results.
However, Cox did get some national attention for a speech he made apologizing to the LGBTQ community during a rally to honor the victims of a mass shooting at an Orlando gay nightclub.
Surprisingly, nearly 30% of Republicans we surveyed said they didn’t know who Cox is. In fact, Cox is more popular among Democrats and independent voters than he is with his own party.
- 46% of Utah Republicans view him favorably, while 7% have a negative view of him. 20% said they had no opinion while 28% replied they had never heard of him.
- 69% of Utah Democrats have a favorable view of him.
- 56% of unaffiliated voters view him favorably.
Cox also has greater appeal toward the middle and political left than among more Conservative Utahns.
- 44% of “very conservative” voters view him favorably
- 54% of “somewhat conservative” Utahns have a favorable opinion of Cox.
- 54% of moderates see Cox positively
- 74% of “somewhat liberal” voters have a favorable opinion of Cox.
- 75% of “very liberal” Utahns have a positive view of Cox.
The survey was conducted by Dan Jones & Associates March 22-29, 2017 among 844 registered Utah voters with a margin of error +/- 3.37%.