Utah Gov. Cox popularity holds strong with GOP, dips among Democrats

Over that same period, Cox’s approval among registered Republicans stayed nearly the same, shifting slightly from 68% to 66% and returning to 68% in May. November numbers show Cox’s support among Republicans rising by 3 points, to 71%.

These swings in different directions, depending on party affiliation, could also reflect the state’s debate over redistricting, which escalated in the middle of the November polling period, according to Hinckley Institute Director Jason Perry.

“These shifts are unfolding at the same time as a closely watched redistricting battle, which has pulled public attention toward questions about who shapes the state’s political map and what that means for representation,” Perry said.

On Nov. 10, a district court judge rejected a new congressional map drawn by the Utah Legislature, which she deemed unfair to Democrats, and chose a map submitted by a third-party that guaranteed a deeply blue seat in Salt Lake County.

While Democrats celebrated the ruling as an opportunity to improve urban representation, state Republican officials, including Cox, balked at the move, condemning the unprecedented action of a judge selecting congressional district boundaries.

Months removed from the legislative session, Cox’s change in support might boil down to the state’s complicated redistricting saga which has become tied up in the national political tit-for-tat over congressional control, Perry said.

“Gov. Cox’s approval rating is still in positive territory, but the makeup of that support is becoming partisan,” Perry said. “Rather than dramatically changing Cox’s overall standing, the moment appears to be amplifying voters’ existing partisan instincts.”

The office of the governor declined to comment for this story.

Utah thrown into national redistricting chaos

Utah’s redistricting court case, which stems from the Proposition 4 ballot initiative, dates back to 2022. But that hasn’t stopped national leaders of both parties from throwing Utah in with the gerrymandering efforts happening in Texas and California.

In October, Donald Trump Jr. marshaled support for the Utah GOP’s initiative to repeal Proposition 4. And last week, U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries reacted to the judge’s actions by saying, “We have defeated the Republican effort to steal a congressional seat.”

National attention to Utah’s redistricting case comes after President Donald Trump pressured Texas legislators to redraw their congressional map mid-decade to favor Republicans in the 2026 midterms. They did so, passing a gerrymandered map in August.

This was followed by threats to do the same in Democrat-leaning states — many of which are already extremely gerrymandered — and led to California voters passing an initiative to redraw five Republican-held congressional districts to favor Democrats.

Utah Republicans vowed to do everything they can to reverse the creation of a deep-blue seat in the heart of the state’s capital, promising to appeal the case to higher courts. It is uncertain whether their efforts will succeed in changing the map before November of next year.

However, GOP officials have tried to keep the focus on separations of powers within the state, as opposed to on national political fights, with Cox weighing in to say the judge’s decision to override the Legislature’s authority over map-drawing is unconstitutional.

“While I respect the Court’s role in our system, no judge, and certainly no advocacy group, can usurp that constitutional authority,” Cox said in a post last week. “For this reason, I fully support the Legislature appealing the Court’s decision.”

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