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Post-RNC, Utah Republicans still split on Trump

Posted at 8:00 PM, Jul 22, 2016
and last updated 2016-07-22 22:00:16-04

SALT LAKE CITY -- Two of Utah’s top Republicans went to Cleveland, and they brought back entirely different impressions on what happened at the Republican National Convention.

Lt. Governor Spencer Cox has been a Trump skeptic from the start, and the convention did little to change his mind.

“I was hoping for a positive message, a unifying message, and what we got was a very dark, a very dystopian, view of our country,” Cox said.

Cox says Trump’s running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, gives him hope in the GOP ticket.

“We're voting for a president first and foremost, and a vice president second, and I think for me and for a lot of people in the state of Utah, I think Mr. Trump still has some work to do,” Cox said.

Greg Hughes, Speaker of the Utah House of Representatives, has been Donald Trump’s most high-profile supporter in Utah, and he has a long-standing friendship with Donald Trump Jr.

Hughes said, “that’s disappointing” when asked about Cox’s characterization of Trump’s acceptance speech as “dark” and “dystopian.”

“I thought that the speech was incredibly optimistic," Hughes said. "I think Donald Trump did a great job of describing the challenges in front of this country and what his team and Governor Pence are prepared to take on."