Merrill Cook facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Merrill Cook
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Utah's 2nd district |
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| In office January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2001 |
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| Preceded by | Enid Greene |
| Succeeded by | Jim Matheson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 6, 1946 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican (before 1988, 1996–present) Independent (1988–1996) |
| Spouse |
Camille Sanders
(died 2015) |
| Children | 5 |
| Education | University of Utah (BA) Harvard University (MBA) |
Merrill Alonzo Cook (born May 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman. He was a member of the Republican Party and served in the United States House of Representatives for Utah. This means he was one of the people who helped make laws for the country from Utah.
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Early Life and Career
Merrill Cook was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah. His father, Melvin A. Cook, was a scientist who helped create new types of explosives used in mining.
Merrill Cook finished East High School in 1964. He then went to the University of Utah, graduating in 1969. He later earned a special business degree (an M.B.A.) from Harvard Business School in 1971.
After college, he worked as a budget analyst. In 1973, he started his own company, Cook Slurry Company, which made explosives for mining. He was the president and chief executive of this company.
Cook married Camille Sanders, and they had five children. They were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Camille, who was an opera singer, passed away on January 15, 2015, due to complications from Alzheimer's disease.
Political Journey
Before he was elected to Congress, Merrill Cook tried to win many different political jobs. He ran as a Republican and also as an Independent. He even started his own political group in Utah in 1988 called the Utah Independent ticket.
He ran for the Utah Board of Education in 1984, for Mayor of Salt Lake City in 1985, and for the Salt Lake County Commission in 1986, but he did not win any of these races.
Running for Governor
Cook first ran for Governor of Utah in 1988. He came in third place, getting 21% of the votes. His campaign took away enough votes from the main Republican and Democratic candidates that the winner, Norm Bangerter, won with only 40% of the votes.
He ran for governor again in 1992. This time, he came in second with 34% of the votes, behind Mike Leavitt.
Running for Congress
In 1994, Cook ran for Congress in Utah's 2nd district. He finished third.
However, in 1996, the current Republican representative, Enid Greene, decided not to run again. Merrill Cook rejoined the Republican Party. He won the primary election a few months later. In the main election, he ran against Rocky Anderson. Cook won with 56% of the votes.
In 1998, Cook won his re-election by 10 percentage points.
Later Campaigns
In 2000, the Democrats chose Jim Matheson to run against Cook. Many Republicans were worried that Cook might lose his seat. In the primary election, Cook was defeated by Derek Smith. Jim Matheson then easily won the general election.
Cook continued to run for different offices. In 2004, he ran for mayor of Salt Lake County as an independent but only received 8% of the votes. In 2006, he tried to challenge Congressman Chris Cannon but was eliminated early.
He ran for his old congressional seat in 2008. Cook often used a lot of his own money for his campaigns, spending over $4 million. He lost the Republican nomination in May 2008.
In 2010, he ran for the U.S. Senate against Bob Bennett but did not make it past the first round of voting at the state convention.
See also
- United States Senate election in Utah, 2010
