Follow the Funds: Utah’s 2024 Governor’s Race

The 2024 Utah governor’s race was one of the most contentious elections in state history, fueled by infighting among Utah Republicans.

Governor Spencer Cox’s campaign for a 2nd term was challenged by state representative Phil Lyman at the Republican state convention. Despite Lyman defeating Cox at the Republican state convention, Cox advanced to the Republican primary by collecting nominating signatures from statewide Republican voters.

Cox would go on to defeat Lyman in the June primary, but the results were closer than many were expecting.

Despite spending 110% more than Lyman, the Cox campaign received just 19% more votes. Cox received 0.1052 votes per dollar spent, while Lyman received 0.1851 votes per dollar.

Publicly available campaign disclosure documents from 2024 also show Cox relied on much more out-of-state support than Lyman: Utahns accounted for 75% of Cox’s donations, compared to 97% of Lyman’s.