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SALT LAKE CITY — State Rep. Brian King, D-Salt Lake City, announced Monday a campaign to unseat Gov. Spencer Cox in 2024.
The former Utah House minority leader is a frequent critic of the state's legislative majority and governor. During his eight terms as a Democratic lawmaker, King has advocated against conservative legislation on social issues and derides what he sees as an embrace of partisanship on Capitol Hill.
"We simply deserve better in Utah than our current state of politics," King told the Deseret News. "I'm running to offer an alternative for the better of the people in the state of Utah — a government that prioritizes public good over personal interests, that delivers results rather than just rhetoric and that reflects and displays courage and character, rather than just fighting with each other and going to our corners."
A controversial bill that gave Cox greater authority over the commission that reviews and recommends judicial nominations for the state was the "final straw" that convinced him to launch a gubernatorial bid, said King, who has never ran for statewide office before.
"It struck me that this was just an abuse of the tremendous power that the governor already has to appoint people who are judges in the state of Utah," King said. "This was an example that I've seen far too much of in my time in the legislature of one party who controls how things operate politically in Utah gathering even more power to itself."
King sees his unlikely campaign as an effort to return bipartisanship and checks and balances to Utah's government.
"I understand how the legislature and the governor's office work together and how they have the potential to complement each other in a positive way, as opposed to having the governor just roll over and cave into the most extreme voices within the legislature. I think we've seen far too much of that recently," King said.
As minority leader, King led opposition to Utah's 2020 abortion prohibition and proposed gun control legislation requiring universal background checks on gun sales.
I wouldn't take on this job, I wouldn't run unless I thought I could win.
–Rep. Brian King
King continues to be "very concerned" about "women's reproductive issues." He thinks it is just one example of Republicans "completely misreading the will and the desires of the people of the state of Utah with regard to these most personal private decisions in their lives" which has made Utahns more open to a Democratic alternative.
But King knows he would have to change a lot of minds.
The state elected Republican Govs. Cox and Gary Herbert by 30-40 percentage points in each of the last three elections and Cox continues to enjoy a relatively high approval rating.
"I wouldn't take on this job, I wouldn't run unless I thought I could win," King said.
King is a lifelong Utahn who attended the University of Utah for his undergraduate and law degrees. He is a practicing attorney who focuses his litigation on health insurance providers.
King says as a lawyer, his top concern is that the state needs a governor who will protect and defend the Utah and U.S. constitutions.
"It's necessary that we elect people who can carry out those responsibilities competently and effectively," King said, "because our constitution both nationally and at a state level has never been more endangered than it is right now."
One other state lawmaker has also entered the race to unseat Cox. State Rep. Phil Lyman, a Republican representing southeastern Utah, launched a primary challenge in October.
