Merrill Cook

Merrill Cook

Merrill Cook (born May 6, 1946 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania ) is an American politician . Between 1997 and 2001 he represented the second constituency of the state of Utah in the US House of Representatives .

Early years and political advancement

Merrill Cook attended East High School and then studied until 1969 at the University of Utah and until 1971 at Harvard University . He then worked as an accountant until 1973. In 1973 he co-founded the Cook Slurry Company , a company that makes explosives for use in mining. Merrill Cook has been President of this company since 1973.

Cook became a member of the Republican Party . In 1984 he ran unsuccessfully for the Utah school committee. A year later, he also unsuccessfully applied for the position of mayor of Salt Lake City, and another year later, in 1986, his application for the County Commission in Salt Lake County was unsuccessful . Also in 1986 he resigned from the Republican Party and founded the Utah Independent Party , for which he ran for governor of Utah in 1988 . He was able to win 22% of the vote and contribute to the election victory of the Republican candidate Norman H. Bangerter , because his votes were mainly at the expense of the Democrat Ted Wilson. In 1992 he ran again for governorship. This time he was able to achieve 34% of the votes and take second place behind the election winner Mike Leavitt . In 1994 he ran for the first time unsuccessfully for the US House of Representatives.

Congressman

After the Republican Congressman Enid Greene had renounced a new candidacy due to a scandal in 1996 , Cook rejoined the Republican Party and successfully applied for the vacant place in Congress . He won the Utah Second District elections with 55% of the vote against Democrat Rocky Anderson . In 1998, Merrill was confirmed with 53% of the vote. During this time he attracted negative attention because of his moody behavior. When the Democrats put up a popular rival candidate for the 2000 election, Jim Matheson, and Cook fell further and further behind him in the polls, the Republican Party decided to hold its own primaries, in which Cook was then no longer nominated. Therefore, he resigned on January 3, 2001 from the Congress, which he had been a member since January 3, 1997, from.

Another résumé

In 2004, Merrill Cook ran for the office of mayor of Salt Lake City as an independent. He only got 8% of the vote. In 2006 and 2008 he tried unsuccessfully to return to the US House of Representatives. Merrill Cook is married to Camille Cook. He is a member of the Mormon Church .

Web links

• Merrill Cook in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)