Sadly, the Utah GOP has grown far more extreme than even after the Tea Party election in 2010. The candidates that behave like statesmen are being driven out one by one. One of the last offices in the state of Utah that can maintain an old school common sense Republican is in the governor's mansion.
Governor Cox has, to a great extent, been walking the middle of the road. With his "disagree better" initiative he has been appealing to many moderate conservatives and moderate liberals (both terms seem to encompass anyone that is not on the most extreme poles of either ideology). However, the current far-right conservatives (that control the Utah GOP) find all of Governor Cox's congeniality to be a sign of RINO treachery. If SB54 was not in play, I am pretty certain he would face a losing battle in the convention next week. For that I am grateful for SB54. Losing Senator Bennett without a primary to Mike Lee in 2010 was a bitter pill that grows more and more bitter as Mike continues to audition for a potential AG spot under Donald Trump. Where are those term limits Senator?
There are two challengers that are worth discussing. One a Trump sycophant with the political debt of a presidential pardon on his back, and the other a tough talking rancher. The former appears to be the likely winner in convention, while the latter is a man I could support wholeheartedly.
To be clear, I would prefer Governor Cox. However, Cox seems to have forgotten Mr. Miyagi's adage about walking the middle of the road. "Walk right side, safe. Walk left side, safe. Walk middle, squish just like grape." The attacks are coming from both sides. At times he shows a great deal of empathy for LGBT people using pronouns with transgender individuals, but than at other times he is willing to sign some onerous bills from the legislature. He can talk of being helpful to refugees while sending UTNG members to the Texas border to participate in Governor Abbott's virtue signaling military misadventures. I can see how his actions can be viewed as walking across all the political lanes of traffic.
First, the sycophant.
Phil Lyman was arrested on a protest ATV ride, and convicted of criminal trespassing. The sentence appears to have been probation. His brush with the law cannot really be considered a major character flaw, it was a silly protest that changed nothing, but it is not like it demonstrates him to be dishonest. After the 2020 impeachment of Donald Trump, he was one who introduced legislation designed to punish Mitt Romney for his solitary guilty vote in the first trial. For this act of loyalty, Trump pardoned him from his conviction at the end of the Trump era. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Lyman (I know it's wikipedia, but the pardon document is there).
Lyman is the heaviest Twitter user of all the GOP gubernatorial candidates. He tries to make Cox look like a leftist on account of Cox's willingness to use pronouns out of respect for transgendered individuals, or a spendthrift on account of additional spending in the Utah State budget, and (least convincingly) that Cox is responsible for higher taxes (despite two straight years of income tax cuts) while offering no plans to lower taxes more than Cox has already done. Inflation based tax revenue increases are not the same as being a tax and spend liberal, it is a consequence of economic conditions.
Lyman has also shown a willingness to engage in culture war / rage politics. Most recent example being the walkout by 7th and 8th graders on account of allegations that there are "furries" (people who identify with animals?) that get away with aggression as opposed to normal kids who are punished for their aggression. Despite school district and teacher assertions that no kids are dressing up in full animal mascot type costumes in school and that the "furries" students are generally picked on, he has pursued the walk-out students side of the story. Lyman also tweeted, but later apologized, for blaming the Baltimore bridge collapse on some African-American public employees as DEI (diversity, equality, and inclusion) candidates who were not actually qualified for the positions they held.
As you can see, I am not a fan.
While not my first choice, I do find Carson Jorgenson to be the best alternative to Cox. He gave a rousing speech to the Washington County GOP convention, and he seems to be honest and upright. Most importantly, I do not believe he would operate as a sycophant to Trump. He comes from a ranching family in central Utah, he works the ranch, and is a craftsman of horse bridles. Politically, he led the Utah GOP as chairman. In his tenure, he brought the Utah GOP out of debt. I kind of love the idea of an honest rancher as governor. Land issues and agriculture should be one of the most important issues on all Utah minds. Farm land is disappearing as farming and ranching continues to show diminishing returns, and selling out to developers seems more profitable. If nothing else, he doesn't jump into inane rage political tweets before all of the facts are ascertained. He has the temperament to be a good governor, while Lyman has the temperment of a first term congressman desperate for time on the Fox News microphone. If you don't know about him, see here: https://www.carsonjorgensen.com/bio.html
