SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Utahns are abuzz on social media sites such as Twitter/X and Reddit after gubernatorial Democratic candidate Brian King and write-in candidate Phil Lyman released a joint advertisement calling incumbent Gov. Spencer Cox the wrong choice for Utah.

The 30-second advert shows King and Lyman standing against a white backdrop — a callback to a similar ad Cox released in 2020 alongside his then-democratic challenger Chris Peterson.

King starts the ad by saying he and Lyman “disagree better,” nodding to Cox’s initiative during his time as chair of the National Governor’s Association. The two agree that while they disagree on policies they both agree that Utah voters should vote for them in the 2024 General Election in November.

The full ad can be seen in the video player below:

“Unfortunately, the Spencer Cox who has been in the governor’s office for the last four years is not the Spencer Cox who was elected in 2020,” King said in a statement following the ad. “Regardless of which side of the aisle you are on, Cox has proven that he is unreliable, unprincipled, and untrustworthy. On this, Phil and I agree.”

In a social media post, Lyman said the difference between Cox and King is that King is “honest about his intentions while [Gov. Cox] hides his left-leaning, globalist agenda behind the R next to his name.”

“Honesty, integrity, and transparency are the cornerstones of true leadership,” Lyman said in a statement. “Unfortunately, we’ve witnessed Governor Cox flip-flop on critical issues, saying one thing and doing another. Utah needs leaders with unshakeable character — those who will confront challenges head-on and engage in direct, honest conversations to move our state forward.”

Lyman continued by praising King saying he had seen his “unwavering commitment” to his principals and the causes he believes in.

A spokesperson for Gov. Cox’s campaign released a statement in response to the surprising collaborative ad saying:

The choice voters have this fall is clear: Utah values or liberal, California-style policy positions. Brian King is ranked every year as one of the most liberal members of the Utah Legislature. He has sponsored bills to dramatically increase taxes and limit the Second Amendment rights of Utah citizens. Losing is hard, but encouraging others to elect someone who believes in a Gavin Newsom style of government is the wrong solution for Utah.”

Matt Lusty, Cox for Governor campaign spokesperson

The Utah Republican Party issued a response to Rep. Lyman’s appearance in King’s campaign ad.

“We condemn Phil Lyman’s endorsement and promotion of Brian King, which will only benefit Democrat candidates whose extreme policies are out of step with Utahns,” the statement reads in part.

Utah reacts to the ad

As of noon on Thursday, Aug. 15, the joint ad received over 200,000 on Twitter/X. The ad has been met with mixed reactions with some finding the advert funny while others were questioning the decision to team up.

Most, however, expressed surprise that Lyman agreed to appear in the ad.

One user on Twitter/X said the advert was “not on my bingo card,” an expression showing that something was unexpected.

“I can’t believe either of them did this. I get that Lyman would want to be written in and King would want the conservatives to split their vote. But for both to say it so overtly together in the same commercial is hilarious,” another user on Reddit user said. “This election season is crazy.”

Utah State Senator Nate Blouin (D) on social media called the ad everything the video it was parodying should have been.

“Politics is messy and this is how things change,” Blouin said.