Three key moments from Utah's governor debate

Gov. Spencer Cox backed eliminating the state sales tax on food during Wednesday's gubernatorial debate, while his opponents decried a proposed amendment to alter the state's ballot initiative process.

Why it matters: Cox, state Democratic Rep. Brian King and Libertarian Robert Latham got a chance to lay out their priorities less than 60 days before the Nov. 5 general election.

State of play: The hour long debate mostly consisted of Cox, the race's frontrunner, and King exchanging barbs with one another.

• It was organized by the nonpartisan Utah Debate Commission and moderated by Jason Perry , director of the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics.

Here are three takeaways :

King calls out Cox over Trump turn

King accused Cox of "acting inconsistently" for backing former President Trump days after telling CNN he would not cast a ballot for Trump over Jan. 6 concerns.

• "He endorsed a man who openly brags of sexually assaulting women. He endorses a man who tried to overthrow our constitutional republic," King said.
• Cox, who said he didn't vote for Trump in 2016 or 2020, has said Trump's assassination attempt was a turning point for him.
• "What I have done is dedicated my life to depolarizing our country and I'm going to do everything I can to help him, to help my party, to help Democrats, to help us come together," Cox said in response.

Altering the ballot initiative process

King and Latham each opposed the constitutional amendment expected to appear on the November ballot to alter the ballot initiative process.

• If approved by a majority of voters, it would give legislators more control to change or block citizen initiatives.
• Cox said citizen initiatives are important, but should be rare: "We have to keep that power available."
• "The governor doesn't have an opportunity to weigh in on constitutional amendments. That's totally the purview of the legislature," Cox said. He signed the legislation placing the issue in front of voters, but it did not require his signature to pass.
• King called the proposed amendment "nothing but a power grab," and referred to Cox as "a lap dog for the most extreme and the most divisive voices in the Legislature."

Spending state income tax revenue

Cox and Latham expressed support for Constitutional Amendment A, which would allow the state to use income tax revenue for purposes beyond just education. If approved by a majority of voters, it would also eliminate the state sales tax on food.

• "It's one of the ways that we are fighting against the federal government and the inflation that we're seeing. I fully support removing that tax on food," Cox said.
• "That's not a trade I'm willing to make," King said. "What our public education system needs is a stable, guaranteed source of income."

What's next: County clerks are expected to begin mailing ballots between Oct. 15-29.