Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) believes Gov. Spencer Cox (R-UT) has a winning message for the 2028 presidential election.
Schatz paused the partisan divide to openly admire Cox’s words following Charlie Kirk’s assassination earlier this week.
Cox said, “Social media is a cancer, and I would urge people to log off, turn off, and touch grass.”
The Hawaii senator responded to Cox’s message on X, saying that he knows “this guy is a Republican and all but I swear you could win all the electoral votes with this message in 28.”
Cox has received heaps of praise for his response to Kirk’s assassination, which comes at a time when political violence and strife have grown more common. A gunman targeted two Minnesota state Democrats and their families earlier this year, killing one of the lawmakers, Melissa Hortman, and her husband. The other, state Sen. John Hoffman, survived.
“Utah Gov Spencer Cox — who has long been an unassuming advocate for turning down the political temperature and filmed campaign ads with his Dem opponents — is perhaps the best spokesman right now for this tragic moment,” Cook Political Report Editor Jessica Taylor wrote on X.
Cox made the remark as the announcement that Kirk’s alleged killer, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, had been caught. Robinson allegedly shot Kirk as he spoke with college students at a Utah university before fleeing the campus.
Cox’s speech largely focused on reducing the political temperature in the country: “We can return violence with violence, we can return hate with hate. That’s the problem with political violence. It metastasizes. We can always point the figure at the other side. At some point, we have to find an offramp, or else it’s going to get much worse.”
Cox has been the public political face of the Kirk investigation, which is still ongoing. The shooter’s motivations are still unknown.
The investigation has raised Cox’s profile, at least immediately. His name has not been seriously considered as a potential 2028 presidential candidate. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have been frequently mentioned as top Republicans for 2028, but Cox’s name could enter the conversation if Republicans are impressed enough by his response.
CHARLIE KIRK DEAD AFTER BEING SHOT AT UTAH VALLEY UNIVERSITY EVENT
The Utah governor was elected in 2021 after over seven years as the state’s lieutenant governor.
He’s considered a centrist Republican and only endorsed President Donald Trump in 2024 after his assassination attempt.
