 Cook's political activities have largely been enabled by self-financing.His personal expenditures for campaigns for office and ballot initiatives have been over $4 million  Cook lost the Republican nomination to Bill Dew at the Utah State GOP Convention on May 10, 2008 where Bill Dew received 69% of the vote.He ran for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in 2010 against incumbent Bob Bennett, but did not make it past the first round of balloting at the state convention.