Utah’s Republican governor says he won’t vote for Trump

Republican Gov. Spencer Cox said he won’t be voting for former President Donald Trump in November and instead will be writing someone in another name.

He told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins Wednesday that he didn’t vote for Mr. Trump in 2020, and won’t this time around either. He said he hasn’t voted for the Republican nominee since 2012.

Mr. Cox said one of the concerns he has regarding Mr. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, is the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

“They chose a candidate this time around that was not my first choice. Wasn’t my choice last time, either,” he said. “But the party spoken and that’s who they have chosen.”

“And so, I’ve said I’m not going to vote for either presidential candidate this year,” he said. “I’ll write somebody in, as I’ve done in the past, but I am supportive. I do want Donald Trump to succeed. I want my party to win.”

Mr. Cox said he’s “very anxious” about who Mr. Trump is going to pick as his vice president, and that it’ll “make a big difference.”

He said he thinks North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, a contender on Mr. Trump’s shortlist, is “an incredible leader.”

“I think he’s somebody who could actually help to unite the party and lead us into November with President Trump,” he said.

When asked how he felt about reports revealing that fake electors who were involved in efforts to overturn the 2020 election will be delegates at the Republican National Convention next week, Mr. Cox said, “It’s not the best look.”

“I’m very hopeful that at the national convention, the Republicans will have an opportunity to turn the page on that stuff and present a hopeful message to the country,” he said. “I think that the country is desperate for some normalcy right now, and neither party has been giving them that normalcy, and I’m hopeful that we can provide some of that normalcy and show a brighter vision for what we can be as a party and what we can be as a country.”

Mr. Cox has faced his own election troubles. Candidate Phil Lyman, who launched a primary challenge against Mr. Cox, lost to him in June but refuses to concede.