Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) pledged on Wednesday to vote against former President Donald Trump, then endorsed North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) for a vice presidential pick just seconds later.
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins asked Cox if he would vote for Trump as the party’s nominee, but he said he has not voted for a Republican candidate at the top of the ticket since 2012.
“I haven’t voted for the top of the ticket since 2012. I’ve certainly had my concerns. One of those is what happened on January 6. I’m hopeful. I want my party to win. They chose a candidate this time around that was not my first choice,” he said of Trump, making it clear Trump was not his first choice in 2020, either.
He continued:
But the party has 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. 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. We desperately need that.
Nevertheless, Cox said he is “very anxious” about who Trump will select as his running mate, asserting that it will make a “big difference” before essentially endorsing Burgum for that role:
I think, certainly for me, I believe in governors. I think Gov. Burgum is an incredible leader. I think he’s somebody who can actually help to unite the party and lead us into November with President Trump, and that’s something we’ll be watching very closely.
It remains unclear if Burgum being on the ticket would sway his decision to not vote for the top of the ticket.
Cox’s remark comes as the party awaits Trump’s decision, which could be announced any day now. All eyes seem to be on both Burgum and Sen. J.D Vance (R-OH), the latter of whom Donald Trump Jr. has touted. Notably, Don Jr. is scheduled to speak right before his father’s running mate at the upcoming Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, signaling to some that it could be Vance.
Stop what you're doing and watch this right now if you want to know what America First is all about🔥
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 11, 2024
“America is not just an idea. America is a nation. America is a group of people with a common history and a common future.” - @JDVance1 pic.twitter.com/1zQEv9u1Mm
Cox’s remark coincides with that of Karl Rove, who also recently endorsed Burgum for vice president.
Of the three names mentioned, “Doug Burgum is not only the safe pick, but also gives him some advantage in that he’s got a successful governor, who’s the governor of the second-largest energy producing state in the union,” Rove explained during an appearance on Fox News.
“If you want to make energy an issue in the campaign, who better than that? But I’m with Josh. I think we’re — we got to think about Donald Trump as not just simply the former president and potentially future president of the United States but the executive producer of The Apprentice,” he said, predicting “a couple of twists and turns before this thing is all done.”
