SALT LAKE CITY — In one of the most corrosive presidential campaigns in recent American history, amid the political denunciations and slanders of an excruciating year, Utah’s top candidates for governor made a television commercial together.
It was not your typical political ad.
On the left side of the screen was Chris Peterson, the Democratic candidate, an affable man in a nondescript suit looking earnestly into the camera. On the right was Spencer Cox, his Republican opponent, with a similar suit and expression.
They cheerfully acknowledged that they disagreed on many things, but added something unusual for American politics in 2020.
“Win or lose, in Utah we work together,” said Peterson, who would be crushed in the November elections, a few weeks after the ad was released.