The race for the 2020 GOP gubernatorial nomination about to get one more contestant as former House Speaker Greg Hughes is taking steps to ready for his entry into the race.
On Thursday, Hughes’ campaign in waiting began changing their social media accounts to reflect his candidacy should he decide to jump into the race.
Hughes’ Instagram account changed it’s name to GregHughes2020. That profile is linked to the website greghughes.com, which has a sign up for campaign volunteers and a donation button. However, donations go to Hughes’ PAC, since he has not officially enetered the race.
Spokesperson Greg Hartley acknowledged that Hughes’ entry into the race was likely imminent.
As we prepare to move from an exploratory phase to officially announcing Greg’s run for Governor, we’ve been doing all the necessary prep work to be ready to hit the ground running,” said Hartley in a text message to UtahPolicy.com. “On top of analyzing, planning, setting strategies, putting budgets together and fundraising for his PAC – we’ve started updating his social media accounts.”
So far, there are four official candidates in the race for the Republican nomination to replace current Gov. Gary Herbert, who is retiring. Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox was the first out of the gate earlier this year, followed by Provo businessman Jeff Burningham, Salt Lake County councilwoman Aimee Winder Newton and former Gov. Jon Huntsman.
Former Utah GOP chairman Thomas Wright, Attorney General Sean Reyes and retiring congressman Rob Bishop are also said to be considering running next year.
