Merrill Alonzo Cook[1] (born May 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who served as a Republican Party member in the United States House of Representatives from Utah.

He was hired as a budget analyst by Arthur D. Little, Inc. and in 1973 founded Cook Slurry Company, a mining explosives manufacturer, of which he served as president and chief executive.

[2] Prior to his election to Congress, Cook ran for office a number of times both as a Republican and on the Utah Independent ticket, a party he founded himself in 1988.

Calling Anderson "too socially liberal for Utah,"[3] Cook won with 56 percent of the vote despite losing the district's share of Salt Lake City.

He was briefly banned from state Republican headquarters after an obscenity-laced tirade, his reaction to being told his name had been eliminated from a GOP get-out-the-vote effort to which Cook's campaign had contributed $25,000.

Polls showing Cook far behind Matheson made many Republicans nervous about their chances of holding the seat, especially considering that the 2nd has historically been much friendlier to Democrats than the rest of Utah.

Cook ran for mayor of Salt Lake County in 2004 as an independent, but garnered only 8 percent of the vote in a race won by Democrat Peter Corroon.