June 28, 2022
PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5/KOLD News 13/AP) – Former Rep. Matt Salmon announced Tuesday that he is ending his gubernatorial campaign. The move comes a week before early ballots are mailed out and leaves the GOP contest a two-candidate slugfest. Salmon was widely seen as trailing former TV news anchor Kari Lake and developer Karrin Taylor Robson.
Robson has been spending millions on her campaign to boost her political standing against Lake, a populist who has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump. Salmon says it became clear he couldn’t win. He was increasingly seen as a spoiler who could split mainstream Republicans and pull votes from Robson.
On Wednesday, Salmon announced his endorsement of Robson for governor. “Karrin is a successful businesswoman and a conservative outsider who is well qualified to serve as chief executive of the state we love,” Salmon said in a press release. “With her decades of service in Arizona, I am confident that she knows what it takes to stand up for families, protect taxpayers, secure the border, and push back against the Biden Administration. “I look forward to putting the full weight of my support behind her candidacy.
Longtime political consultant and pollster, Paul Bentz said Robson stands to benefit the most from Salmon’s exit. “(Salmon) was a more policy driven individual who appeals to more traditional conservatives, fiscal responsible and others of those types of audiences aren’t aligned with what Lake has been purporting, which is more of the populist approach the more Trump approach,” Bentz said.
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