Yes, Gov. Spencer Cox has signed a book deal with Penguin Press. No, that does not mean he will chase the White House in 2028.
“Let me make it very clear, I’m not running for president,” he told reporters during his Nov. 25 monthly news conference. “Have no interest in running for president. If nominated, I will not serve.”
Writing a book is often something prospective candidates do in the run-up to a presidential bid. Cox was adamant that the upcoming book “is not that,” but about polarization and our politics. It’s something he started working on roughly two years ago.
“This is just something that is just so important to me, it's something I believe in,” he said. “I wrote my first article about depolarization for the University of Utah in 2014, and I look back so fondly on 2014. Those were the good old days, and it didn't feel like it at the time.”
Cox has seen his national profile rise in recent months, spurred on by his longtime Disagree Better initiative and comments about finding an “off-ramp” away from political violence in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s shooting. He was widely seen as modeling strong leadership in the face of tragedy.
Cox also joined NPR for a wide-ranging interview, where he discussed his response to Kirk’s death and the country’s growing partisan divide.
“You know, I always like to say, if I don't have any real friends, at least we can hate the same people together on Facebook or TikTok, and that's no replacement for true conversation,” he told Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep. “And I think that's dangerous. And that leads to things like Charlie Kirk getting assassinated.”
That heightened national profile, said Utah State University political science professor Damon Cann, has “poured a little bit of gasoline on the fire of ‘draft Spencer Cox for president,’ so to speak.”
“Spencer Cox has been rumored for some time to be a strong potential candidate for president,” he said. “The national exposure that he received in the wake of the Charlie Kirk shooting and his advocacy there for civility and respect and just strong, civil dialogue that he's been pushing in Utah for, you know, basically as long as he's been governor, were new to the national stage.”
It’s also way too early for any serious presidential hopeful to signal their intention to run. The long-standing norm in American politics, Cann said, is to hold off on announcing a run until after the midterm elections.
“It does seem to me that part of it is, ‘tis the season for people to be speculating on who is going to run for president,” he said. “So it's a natural question to ask. No one should be faulted for wondering about it.”
When it comes to any potential 2028 candidate, Cann has the same advice: “Say that you are not considering running for president.” That way, he said, you don’t draw the early scrutiny where “everyone starts scouring over your record.”
There’s also the current national political landscape Cox — or any other prospective candidate — will need to take into account.
While the governor’s brand of political civility might play well in Utah and in national interviews, the reality of a primary electorate could prevent a national run from getting too far off the ground.
“[Cox] definitely has a pragmatic streak and trying to figure out what can get done, and that melds nicely with his emphasis on civil dialogue and compromise, working together to get things done,” Cann said. “But that's not the kind of messaging that tends to be successful in Republican primary elections.”
President Donald Trump trounced the GOP primary fields in 2016 and 2024 and rode that momentum to the White House with his unapologetic Make America Great Again brand of politics. It’s something Cox has not been shy about speaking out against in the past, despite his surprise endorsement of Trump after an attempted assassination in 2024.
Cox has acknowledged the difference in tone. When asked about the president at his news conference, he said Trump hasn’t prioritized civility and unity in his second term and “that’s OK.”
“This is something that's important to me,” Cox said. “I realize it's not important to everybody, but I'm just going to keep sharing my message.”
For Cann’s part, it’s tough to say whether Cox’s refusal comes from a personal desire not to be president or a pragmatic decision based on politics. No matter what, he said, a lot can happen between now and when 2028 candidates actually start to announce campaigns.
“I don't know that one should rule out someone changing their mind on this matter,” Cann said. “You know, you only have to look as far as John Curtis, who ruled out a run for Senate just a year ago.”
Curtis later changed his mind, of course, after people asked him what it would take to get him to reconsider. Eventually, he came to ask himself, “Well, what if?”
