Utah’s Republican governor says he “hopes” that at least one of the six current and former state leaders running for president in 2024 can beat Donald Trump
- Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said he “expects” a governor to win the Republican nomination in 2024, saying the Party needs to “turn the page.”
- Of the 15 candidates in the race so far, six are current or former governors.
- The leading candidates currently are Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
There are six current and former Republican governors up for the Party’s 2024 nomination, and Utah Gov. Spencer Cox “hopes” one of them can beat Donald Trump.
Of the 15 candidates vying for the Republican nomination so far, nearly half are current or once governors.
“I like governors,” Cox said during an interview with CBS Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan. ‘I think governors are great. I think the governors have real experience.
‘The great thing about governors is that we actually have to get things done, right? We can’t just do the performance thing,” she added.
Utah Republican Gov. Spencer Cox said he “expects” a governor to win the Republican nomination in 2024, saying the party needs to “turn the page.”
Currently, the leading candidates are former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Of the 15 candidates in the race so far, six are current or former governors.
The only likely competition against front-runner Donald Trump in the primary race so far is Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who rose to national fame due to his successful response to COVID-19 and lax reopening laws amid the pandemic.
Mike Pence was not only Trump’s vice president, but also the governor of Indiana from 2013 to 2017.
Former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley was the first female governor of South Carolina between 2001 and 2017, when Trump named her ambassador.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson have also joined the race.
The only other current governor in the race besides DeSantis is North Dakota’s Doug Burgum, a billionaire who sold his software company to Microsoft for $1.1 billion in 2001.
There’s still some time for others to jump into the 2024 race, but the first debate is fast approaching in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on August 23 and any candidate with a serious shot would want to announce it before then.
Cox hopes a governor can win the nomination because he wants to ‘turn the page’ on previous leadership and introduce new blood into the executive.
He also said that governors often succeed in the highest office because they are efficient and good team players, even across parties.
“You know, the potholes are not partisan,” he said in his interview with CBS on Sunday morning.
“And I think we have a lot of amazing options,” Governor Cox added. “And I’m very hopeful that we can turn the page and try something else, someone who can win, which I think is important.”
“And I think any one of those governors could win and I certainly hope we give them a chance.”
Trump maintains a commanding lead in the polls with at least 50 percent support.
DeSantis regularly falls around 20 points behind Trump and the rest of the field more often than not fails to garner double-digit support.
