Three hurdles Utah governor’s Democratic challenger will need to overcome to pose a threat

Rep. Brian King (D-UT) is looking to overcome critical challenges in his battle to unseat Gov. Spencer Cox (R-UT) this November. 

Utah is a red state where Republican voters outnumber Democrats by over a 3-to-1 margin. The last time a Democratic presidential candidate won the state was in 1964, when Lyndon Johnson secured a landslide victory over Barry Goldwater. Utah’s last Democratic governor was Scott Milne Matheson Jr., who served until 1985. 

During a recent interview with the Deseret News, King, who has served as a Democratic lawmaker in the state since 2010, said he sees cracks in the Republican coalition that could galvanize a surprise victory over Cox this November. 

King poses for a portrait at the Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City

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