Republican Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox has won the race for Utah governor.
He replaces the leader who endorsed him in a race that played out during the coronavirus pandemic. Cox defeated Democrat Chris Peterson, a law professor who continued to advocate for a mask mandate as cases spiked this fall. Cox supported Republican Gov. Gary Herbert’s decision to encourage them but not require their use. The general election came after a hard-fought GOP primary where Cox beat out three other competitors for the nomination that’s often decisive in conservative Utah. He will succeed Herbert, who first took office in 2009 and decided not to run again this year.