This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert is in line to lead the National Governors Association, a prominent group that seeks to represent state interests in Washington, D.C.
The group named Herbert vice chairman last weekend during its general meeting in Nashville. Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, is the 2015 chairman.
The NGA makes sure to split the chair and vice chair between the two prominent parties and, by rule, the vice chairman takes over the top spot in the following year. That means Herbert will assume chairmanship of the national organization in the summer of 2016, the same year he is expected to run for re-election.
Herbert called his appointment "a tremendous opportunity for Utah to share on a more prominent stage the success we have enjoyed in our state."