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Former Utah Gov. Gary Herbert speaks during a recorded interview with the Western Governors’ Association released in October 2024.
In the race to become the presidential nominee for either major party, the nation looks to states in the East before the question can be considered in the West.
As former Utah Gov. Gary Herbert sees it, that can make it harder for candidates from Western states to win the White House.
“I think our system for electing a president has its own challenges, and consequently, it probably is more biased towards electing somebody from the East than it is from the West,” Herbert said in a conversation with the Western Governors’ Association, PBS Books and the Bipartisan Leadership Project released online this month.
Not since Ronald Reagan in 1980 has someone from the West been elected president, he noted.
“I think our system to nominate our presidents probably needs a good, hard look and maybe a revamp, maybe a new way of looking at things. And if that happens, I think the West can again become more prominent,” Herbert said, not going into specifics during the brief conversation.
Getting Western states a more prominent spot in the nomination process would give voters there a greater voice, meaning “one of our favorite sons will have a chance — or daughters — to get elected or get the nomination.”
The interview is part of a series of conversations recorded with current and former Western governors as part of the association’s 40th anniversary, with a focus on bipartisanship. In his video, Herbert emphasized the shared concerns that can cross partisan lines in the West, including public lands, energy development, mineral extraction, tourism and travel.
“So that brings us together for common cause, common issues that we kind of share advice and counsel and then work with the federal government to see if we can, in fact, change policy and get things better,” Herbert said, noting that the association’s cooperative nature has won it a good working relationship with different White House administrations through the years.
Herbert’s comments also touched on his own entry into politics, when as a real estate broker and developer in the 1980s he became fed up with high mortgage rates, which he blamed on government policies, and decided to get involved.
Today, he sees young Americans turning away from ceaseless negativity and fighting in politics, which means the pool of future leaders is dwindling. But he is encouraged by those who are getting involved, educating themselves on issues or supporting campaigns, and he urged citizens to find where they can participate.
“I think it’s very important that we, the people, engage at all levels,” Herbert said. ”Not everybody maybe wants to or is suited to run for office, it’s not for the faint of heart or the thin of skin, but they can support somebody else. They can carry signs, they can go to town hall meetings, they can go out and encourage other people to run. They can donate money.  There’s a lot of ways you can serve, but if we don’t have the public engaged, we’re not going to get the best and brightest people running for office.”
Utah News Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.