In politics, you’re either on message or you’re losing. Let’s get to it.
Welcome to On Message, a weekly look at where the battle lines are drawn and who is winning the war of words.
This week… By the Playbook.
Late in the afternoon of October 7th, Governor Spencer Cox and Lt. Governor Deidre Henderson tweeted a statement announcing they had responded to allegations of sexual misconduct against their 2020 campaign manager, Austin Cox.
(And because there are so darn many Coxes we’ll just refer to him as Austin in this video.)
In the statement, the governor and lieutenant governor outlined steps they had taken including placing Austin on administrative leave and commissioning an independent investigation which they says revealed sufficient evidence to terminate employment, an action that was unnecessary because Austin had already resigned.
Original reports indicated that Austin did not return request for comment but comments from his attorneys were included within a couple of hours. They deny the allegations and add to the mix that the relationship in question was a long-term one ended by their client.
Now, look, this isn’t the forum to get into the details of the relationship or how it ended. We’re here to look at the communication strategy and how it may all play out.
First, the Governor’s team.
They ran this one right out of the modern playbook. They got out ahead of the story by releasing the news before any media outlet had it. They established the narrative that positioned themselves as the good guys and they outlined all the steps they had taken.
Presuming their story is accurate and they’re not leaving out any important nuggets of information… they’ve handled phase one about as well as they could have hoped.
But this situation still has the potential to get messy.
The biggest loose end is the former campaign manager. Publicly severing ties with a loyal soldier – even with alleged good reason – comes with risk. If Austin has any dirt to dish, he now has little incentive to keep quiet to protect his former employer.
The statement from Austin’s attorneys indicates he has a side of the story to tell but stopped short of saying what his next step will be.
Already, the Salt Lake Tribune editorial board has outlined a number of questions they think still need to be answered, essentially “what did the governor know and when did he know it?” After all, he was supportive of Austin’s campaign for State Republican Party Vice Chair back in April.
Complicating the coverage of the story is the amorphous nature of a political campaign, which, in essence ceases to exist on Election Day. The only holdover Cox campaign staffer was Austin, who isn’t there anymore, meaning only two office holders remain – the Gov and the LG.
So, when reporters want answers about the campaign’s investigation into the matter, the Governor’s Office and his state-funded communication team simply declines, citing the fact they don’t work for the campaign.
But no one does, except the two office holders and it isn’t likely that state-funded comms office is will rush to make either Governor Cox or Lt. Governor Henderson available to answer these questions.
Reporters who get stonewalled will either give up on pursuing additional information… or stick with it and bring it up as soon as they get an opportunity.
The Cox team is betting on the former. Making a statement, remaining mum and waiting for the news cycle to move on.
They may be the right play. But if reporters stay interested or additional details come ot light, this could still get interesting.
That’s it for this week.
More On Message in the next issue of the Utah Political Underground.
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