“The two things I'm most worried about for families, it’s their ability to get where they need to go and the second is making sure they have enough to eat," he said.
Cox stressed that higher rates of inflation and high interest rates from the Federal Reserve mean fewer opportunities for Utah families, putting pressure on them both at the gas pump and at the grocery store.
He then turned to Utah's growing renewable energy industry. With the Department of Energy recently approving a loan to back a hydrogen-based renewable power storage facility in Delta, Utah is poised to push forward with renewable energy storage.
“Hydrogen has great opportunities. We believe strongly in those and that we should be investing in those technologies side by side with smart production of oil and gas as a bridge to get us there,” Cox said.
Cox transitioned to addressing concerns over gun control, highlighted by the recent shooting in Uvalde, Texas. He commended Utah’s programs that address gun safety and safety in schools including the SafeUT app and resource officer and counselor programs in Utah schools. Despite these programs, he still has concerns over gun violence and responsible ownership.
“While we have not had a mass shooting like the ones that we saw in Texas and other places, we do have too many suicides, and we do have far too many domestic violence incidents. Those are two areas where I do think we can make some headway enforcing laws, maybe adding some new laws around locking guns, making sure gun locks are available ubiquitously, and making sure that people who are not locking up their guns are held accountable,” Cox said.
He also expressed some support for limited red-flag laws that focus on upholding Second Amendment rights while providing protection for Utahns in crisis.
He concluded his remarks by asking Utahns to vote in the upcoming primary election on June 28th.
