Democratic gubernatorial candidate Brian King and former Republican primary candidate Phil Lyman — who has launched a write-in campaign — have teamed up for a “Disagree Better”-style attack ad against Utah Governor Spencer Cox.
The ad is modeled on a 2020 viral video shot by then-gubernatorial candidate Spencer Cox and his Democratic opponent Chris Peterson, and subsequent ads featuring Republican and Democratic lawmakers across the country are part of Cox’s “Disagree Better” campaign, which aims to lower the temperature of political rhetoric.
“Phil and I disagree on most issues,” King says at the beginning of the 30-second commercial, winking at the camera. Then a graphic appears showing King’s and Lyman’s opposing stances on public lands, school curriculum, reproductive rights, electoral processes and the role of government.
But, they say in unison, “we both agree on the biggest point: Spencer Cox should not be our next governor.”
After his loss to Cox in the Republican primary in June, Lyman launched a write-in campaign, a move that drew criticism from some Republican party leaders.
At the end of the commercial, Lyman and King ask for voters’ support before both uttering King’s campaign slogan “for the better” as King’s logo appears on the screen. The commercial says it was paid for by “Brian for Utah.”
In response to the Lyman-King ad, the Cox team emphasized King’s liberal record and portrayed Lyman’s write-in campaign as a resentment after he lost the Republican primary by over 37,500 votes.
“The choice voters have this fall is clear: Utah’s values or California-style liberal policy positions,” said Matt Lusty, spokesman for Cox’s campaign. “Losing is tough, but encouraging others to vote for someone who believes in Gavin Newsom-style government is the wrong solution for Utah.”
Utah Republican Party Chairman Rob Axson issued a strongly worded statement Thursday reiterating the party’s support for its candidates and calling Lyman’s decision to film an anti-Cox commercial with King an “endorsement” of the Democratic candidate.
“We condemn Phil Lyman’s support and promotion of Brian King, which only benefits Democratic candidates whose extreme policies are not aligned with the people of Utah,” said the statement posted on X. “Not exactly clever clickbait videos that attempt to pit Republicans against each other only remind us of what is at stake; the people of Utah must not fall for it.”
Axson said Lyman’s campaign was not representative of the majority of Republicans in Utah and urged Lyman to “change course.” King and Lyman’s campaign teams said the ad did not represent an endorsement.
Why did Lyman and King make a “Disagree Better” style commercial?
When Cox first ran for governor in 2020 after serving as lieutenant governor for seven years, he made headlines with a video he shot with Democratic candidate Chris Peterson. In the clip, the two candidates, standing against a white background and wearing red or blue ties, depending on their party, express their shared commitment to democratic values and mutual respect.
The success of this unorthodox campaign ad inspired Cox to launch his national initiative, “Disagree Better,” as chairman of the National Governors Association. The campaign included more than a dozen bipartisan ads, depolarization trainings, conferences with high-profile speakers, and academic studies on the impact of politicians who model healthy dialogue.
While King and Lyman expressed interest in filming a “Disagree Better” commercial with Cox in March, the two candidates have since focused their candidacies on criticizing Cox’s political approach.
“Disagree Better” seems disingenuous, King argues, when the state has a two-thirds Republican majority. King has adopted a modified version of Cox’s slogan, saying elected officials must go beyond civil rhetoric and disagree “for the better” to consider the views of a broad swath of Utahns.
As minority leader in the Utah House of Representatives, King proposed gun control legislation and led the opposition to Utah’s abortion ban in 2020. During the 2024 legislative session, he was also an outspoken critic of Cox’s decision to support Republican bills banning certain diversity, equity and inclusion practices and increasing penalties for people who use public restrooms that do not match their biological sex.
Lyman has attacked Cox from the right for being too soft on these issues. He has pushed to downsize Utah’s government, stop the flow of immigrants into the state and take a hard line on culture war issues. Lyman’s messaging has focused heavily on “Disagree Better,” and the candidate has mentioned the initiative more than 80 times this year on his X account.
But despite their ideological differences, Lyman and King share a common desire to remove Cox from office.
Lyman and King join forces. Will it hurt Cox?
Lyman’s post-primary message included numerous suggestions that a vote for King would be better than a vote for Cox in the general election. King’s campaign has cheered Lyman’s decision to launch a write-in campaign, seeing it as an opportunity to exploit a divided GOP.
“Any Utahn who believes our state needs different leadership is welcome in our campaign, and I plan to continue speaking to voters of all political backgrounds across the state from now through November,” King said Thursday.
In a post after the ad was published, Lyman said, “The ad was meant to validate my seriousness. I am running because I believe Utahns deserve a conservative choice, not two Democrats.”
Utah Senator Mike Lee, who enjoys consistently high approval ratings among Utah conservatives, said Wednesday he would vote for Cox in November and expressed concern that Lyman’s campaign could prove damaging to Utah and the Republican Party.
“In the primaries, Republicans are fiercely debating policy differences. The primaries are over. We cannot risk Utah becoming California. We must defeat the Democrats by standing behind our Republican colleagues,” Lee said in the statement on X.
Marty Carpenter, a Republican consultant who managed former Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.’s 2020 gubernatorial campaign, told Deseret News that write-in campaigns rarely feature strong competition and predicted that either way, Lyman’s efforts “won’t be enough to really have a meaningful impact” on the general election.
The 195,000 votes Lyman received in the primary probably represented the ceiling of his support, Carpenter said, explaining that there was “a passionate group” that “detested the governor so much” that they wrote Lyman’s name on their ballots.
But compared to the 919,000 votes Cox and Henderson received in the 2020 general election and the 443,000 votes their Democratic opponent received, Lyman’s vote total seems more likely to secure him a third-place finish in 2024, according to Carpenter.
