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SALT LAKE CITY — Spencer Cox still wants to be Utah’s next governor.
But for now, he’s not going to actively campaign because he says “unprecedented times call for unprecedented measures.”
Instead of asking supporters to donate to his campaign effort, he’s asking them to look for people in need in their neighborhoods.
“As many of you were planning on making a contribution to our campaign, please think of someone who might need it more than we do,” he said in a letter also signed by his newly named running mate Deidre M. Henderson.
“This is a time to think about those around you. How can you use the money you might have donated to candidates this month to help our neighbors and friends? Find out which of your neighbors will miss paychecks. Leave a larger tip when you pick up take-out from your local restaurant. Give a bike or video game to a child down the street. Help a health care worker whose day care budget has run out. Send a member of your staff experiencing a lighter workload to pick up an elderly neighbor’s groceries.”
Cox said his campaign is also canceling TV ads and events. All of their meetings have moved online, and even though the campaign workers might not be visible, he said supporters should know he’s still working “harder to make up the difference.”
“A primary election will be held in June, and we still need you on our team,” he wrote. “Right now, your neighbors need you more.”
Cox is leading the state’s Coronavirus Community Task Force, and he appeared in multiple online press events and town halls talking about the ways the state was trying to address the many needs that have arisen as the state shut down everything from schools to small businesses in an effort to slow the spread of the new coronavirus.
Cox’s announcement comes the same day Gov. Gary Herbert asked for a weekend of prayer and service.
Cox and Henderson are vying for the Republican nomination, which is also being sought by Jeff Burningham, Jan Garbett, Greg Hughes, Jon Huntsman (running with Michelle Kaufusi), Aimee Winder Newton, and Thomas Wright (running with Congressman Rob Bishop).
