Utah Gov. Spencer Cox speaks at Hale Centre Theatre in Sandy on March 28. Cox will speak as chairman of the National Governors Association in Salt Lake City next week, along with actor Matthew McConaughey.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox speaks at Hale Centre Theatre in Sandy on March 28. Cox will speak as chairman of the National Governors Association in Salt Lake City next week, along with actor Matthew McConaughey. (Megan Nielsen, Deseret News)

Spencer Cox’s turn as chairman of the National Governors Association is coming to an end and the Utah Republican will hand off the reins next week at a series of meetings in Salt Lake City that will feature Academy Award-winning actor Matthew McConaughey.

Cox has used his role with the national organization to promote his “Disagree Better” campaign, aimed at reducing the vitriol endemic in American politics. The initiative has resulted in over 20 governors from across the nation filming ads with members of opposing parties and has earned the governor notoriety outside of the Beehive State.

Although Politico described Cox as a “longtime Trump skeptic” who has managed to retain his viability as a candidate in the modern GOP, Cox has repeatedly insisted the initiative isn’t about moderation or centrism.

“It is absolutely not about that. It is about disagreeing passionately, being true to our principles in the way we disagree. But it’s about treating people with respect,” he said on Politico’s Playbook Deep Dive podcast last week. “I think it’s fascinating that now we hear words like ‘respect’ and we assume moderation; that conservatism is the same as treating people with disrespect or anger or hate. That’s fairly new in our lexicon. It’s never been like that before, that we’re cross-associating those things.”

Cox issued a similar message to Republican delegates in Utah after being booed as he took the stage at the GOP nominating convention in April. After listing off several conservative wins the state has seen during his administration, Cox addressed some of his most vocal and acrimonious detractors, saying: “But maybe you just hate that I don’t hate enough.”

Cox went on to win last week’s Republican primary election against state Rep. Phil Lyman, R-Blanding, in his bid for reelection.

Matthew McConaughey - Wikiwand

The governor has been highlighting several videos submitted to the Disagree Better campaign on social media in the weeks leading up to the end of his tenure with the National Governors Association and spoke with the organization’s vice chairman and soon-to-be chairman Colorado Gov. Jared Polis at the Aspen Ideas Festival last week.

He will kick off the organization’s two-day summer meetings on July 11 discussing the Disagree Better initiative. University of Florida president and former Sen. Ben Sasse will attend to discuss polarization on campuses, while Robb Willer, the director of Stanford University’s Polarization and Social Change Lab, will present findings on the impacts of Disagree Better, according to a news release from the governor’s office.

McConaughey will speak on July 12 on culture’s role in polarization. The actor, known for “Interstellar,” “The Wolf of Wall Street” and “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,” won an Academy Award in 2014 for his leading role in “Dallas Buyers Club.” His 2020 memoir, “Greenlights,” debuted at the top of the New York Times’ nonfiction best-seller list.

Although he is not known for his politics, McConaughey considered running for governor of his home state of Texas in 2021. McConaughey was also a passionate advocate for “reasonable, practical, tactical regulations” around firearms following the Robb Elementary School shooting that claimed the lives of 19 students and two teachers in his hometown of Uvalde, Texas.