Estimated read time: 6-7 minutes
- Utah Gov. Spencer Cox's approval rating declines among Democrats, remains the same among Republicans.
- Cox's endorsement of Trump and conservative stances have alienated Democratic voters.
- The Utah Legislature's approval drops, driven by increased Democratic disapproval; GOP support steady.
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and the Utah Legislature have seen a decrease in voter approval driven by Democratic dissatisfaction, the latest Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll found.
The Democratic decline has meant a diminished overall approval rating for Cox. However, the recently reelected governor still remains well above water, enjoying a 16-point net approval rating.
Over the last year, Cox has changed his tone in support of President Donald Trump, taken a firm stance on conservative priorities like immigration law enforcement and signed Republican proposals that sparked protests on Capitol Hill.
The result has been consistently high approval among GOP voters but also increased alienation among members of the state's minority party, according to Jason Perry, director of the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics.
"The polling numbers with Democrats show that his perception has moved to the right of where it has been in the past," Perry told the Deseret News. "And it is a perception question, I don't know that he's changed, but that perception seems to have been adjusted."
From April 2023 to April 2025, Cox's job approval rating fell 26 percentage points among registered Democratic voters in the state, from 54% to 28%. Over that same period, Cox's approval among registered Republicans stayed nearly the same, shifting slightly from 68% to 66%.
Of the 800 voters surveyed, 52% said they approve of the job Cox is doing as governor of Utah, 36% said they disapprove and 12% said they don't know. Two years earlier, a Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll conducted by HarrisX found that 64% of Utah voters approved of Cox's performance, 30% disapproved and 6% didn't know.
"It's encouraging to see that a majority of Utahns share the governor's vision to keep Utah the best place to live, work, and raise a family," Cox spokesperson Robert Carroll said in a statement. "But his focus remains where it's always been: on solving the real challenges that matter most to the people of Utah."
In both polls, respondents could choose between "strongly approve," "somewhat approve," "somewhat disapprove" or "strongly disapprove."
Comparing the data points from 2023 and 2025, the share of "somewhat approve" fell by 10 percentage points, while the share of "strongly disapprove" increased by six points and the other options remained roughly the same.
The newest Deseret News/Hinckley Institute poll was conducted online by HarrisX from April 9-12 with a margin of error of +/- 3.5 percentage points.
What explains Cox's approval rating?
Perry, who previously served as chief of staff under former Gov. Gary Herbert, attributed the shift in perception toward Cox among liberal Utahns to two things: Cox's surprise endorsement of Trump and his association with culture-war bills passed by the Legislature.
Cox entered office in 2021 as a Trump critic, saying he had not voted for his party's standard bearer in 2016 and 2020, and would not do so again in 2024.
But following the Butler County, Pennsylvania, assassination attempt against Trump in July, Cox reversed his longtime position of distancing himself from the president and wrote a private letter to Trump pledging his support.
While he has emphasized his "Disagree Better" civility initiative, the Utah governor has also had to weigh in on polarizing issues, Perry said — like transgender participation in sports, sex-transition surgery for minors and, most recently, political symbols in public classrooms.
In many cases, Cox has attempted to work with lawmakers to find a balanced approach that brings all sides to the table in pursuit of a compromise. But regardless of how these bills were handled, they were bound to anger some Democratic voters who view these social issues as unnecessary culture warring, according to Perry.
"He has to take an action on the bills that are given to him," Perry said. "And as he did, several of them are in the category where he's going to lose some support from Democrats."
As he launches his second — and what he promises will be his final — term as governor, Cox has focused on the message of "Built Here," doubling down on his goals of spurring the construction of 35,000 starter homes in the state and doubling energy production as Utah prepares to welcome new technologies and infrastructure ahead of the 2034 Winter Olympics.
Legislative approval rating
A similar story may be true of the Legislature, which has waded into several issues in recent years where the "national narrative" has greatly influenced the "local narrative" surrounding certain bills, Perry said.
Utah voters give the Legislature an overall job approval of 49%, the latest Deseret News/Hinckley Institute poll found. There were 12% of respondents who strongly approved, 36% who somewhat approved, 21% who somewhat disapproved, 16% who strongly disapproved and 14% who said they didn't know.
In March of 2023, the Legislature's approval rating stood at 53%, which falls just outside of the latest poll's margin of error.
The biggest shift between the two polls is an increase in Democratic disapproval, which grew from 66% of Democrats in 2023 to 73% of Democrats in 2025. Republican support held steady, hovering between 66% and 68%.
"In a time of national polarization, Utah stands out for our level-headed, thoughtful governance that's responsive to the needs of our people," Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, said in a statement.
"Common-sense" actions taken by the Legislature have allowed the state to build on its foundation as one of the best-managed, most charitable and happiest states in the country, Schultz said.
In a statement, Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, credited "Utah's volunteer spirit" with creating the conditions for Utah to rank No. 1 in economic outlook, continued GDP growth and rising teacher salaries year after year.
On top of these achievements, Adams said lawmakers have made record investments in education, cut taxes by over $1.4 billion and made historic reforms to water law and energy regulations.
"These policy decisions reflect a commitment to long-term solutions, a thriving economy and a better future for every Utahn," Adams said.
During the 2025 legislative session, the Utah House and Senate overhauled higher education funding in the state to prioritize workforce needs, took steps toward bringing nuclear energy to the state and passed a flurry of laws to enhance public safety.
The Legislature also reformed the state's vote-by-mail system to be opt-in, banned fluoride in public drinking water and prohibited public unions from using collective bargaining in negotiations with the government over taxpayer dollars.
However, the vast majority of the important work done by the Legislature — like balancing the budget and funding transportation projects — hardly made headlines, said Marty Carpenter, a GOP consultant who managed the gubernatorial campaigns of former governors Gary Herbert and Jon Huntsman.
Most people have a favorable view of their own representatives but end up judging the Legislature as a whole based on a few controversial bills that gained the highest profile, according to Carpenter.
"Polling like this tends to be there was one or two or a handful of bills that caught the public's attention," Carpenter said. "But I think if you really got people to answer an informed question ... that number would be far higher."
