Matt Salmon leaves race for Arizona governor

Stacey Barchenger
Arizona Republic
Matt Salmon

Former Arizona congressman Matt Salmon, a longtime figure in state Republican politics who barely lost a bid for governor 20 years ago, announced Tuesday he would end his campaign for the GOP nomination for governor. 

Salmon, 64, announced he would leave the race barely a week before early voting begins, acknowledging he trailed two other GOP candidates who held a lead he couldn't close.  

"Unfortunately, numbers are numbers, and it has become clear to me that the path to a first-place victory is no longer a realistic possibility,” Salmon said in a statement. “Republican primary voters deserve more than having their votes split on Aug. 2nd, and so I am leaving this race for the same reason that I entered it: Because it is what's best for the people of Arizona.”

Salmon, of Mesa, is a small-government, low-tax conservative who jumped from the state Senate to serve five terms over two stints in Washington, D.C., where his legacy includes helping start the House Freedom Caucus, which includes the most conservative members of Congress.  

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Matt Salmon speaks with constituents before a forum with candidates for the governor of Arizona hosted by the National Association of Women Business Owners at the Esplanade on June 15, 2022, in Phoenix.

He built his campaign to replace Republican Gov. Doug Ducey on his experience. Of five GOP candidates in the primary election, Salmon was the only one who had won an election, other than to serve as a precinct committeeperson.  

Salmon pledged to eliminate the income tax, restore election integrity and crack down at the state’s southern border if voters elected him governor.  

While one leading opponent ran a sensational campaign based on rage politics, Salmon was more comfortable talking policy. While another candidate showed a willingness to spend millions of her own money to reach voters, Salmon’s fundraising trailed, leaving him third in the pack of candidates. 

The GOP field narrows

Salmon's departure could shift the dynamics in a close Republican contest, just as many voters are deciding whom to support roughly a month before the Aug. 2 primary.

Salmon’s pool of conservative supporters and donors will now choose between four remaining candidates, namely two frontrunners in the GOP field: Kari Lake, the former Fox 10 news anchor running a Trump-inspired bombastic bid for the state’s top office, and Karrin Taylor Robson, a former developer and member of the Board of Regents who is running a mostly self-funded and more traditional conservative campaign. 

Two other candidates — former businesswoman Paola Tulliani Zen of Scottsdale and business owner Scott Neely of Mesa — also are on the ballot. In terms of spending and polling, however, both Tulliani Zen and Neely trail Lake and Taylor Robson significantly. 

Ducey leaves office in January 2023 having served two terms in office. He cannot run again because of term limits. The governor has not yet endorsed a successor, though he has suggested he could do so. 

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While Taylor Robson is seen by some as likely to benefit from Salmon's departure because both candidates run a more traditional conservative platform, how Salmon's supporters decide who to vote for next is complex, said Kevin DeMenna, a Phoenix lobbyist and longtime adviser to Salmon.

Salmon carried the support of several notable Trump allies, including U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, potentially winning over Trump devotees who now may back Trump-endorsed Lake. 

"This is all about re-slicing the pie," DeMenna said. The re-slicing became apparent in the hours after Salmon ended his bid, splitting two leading architects of the Arizona Senate's controversial review of the 2020 election.

State Sen. Warren Petersen, who had endorsed Salmon, began backing Lake. Outgoing Senate President Karen Fann, who had not made an endorsement, declared her support for Taylor Robson. 

Because he left the race late, Salmon's name will still appear on the ballot in Maricopa County, potentially meaning he will win some votes that other candidates could have gained. 

DeMenna said Taylor Robson and Salmon had lunch three or four weeks ago to discuss the race, a meeting he and others helped arrange. That was the "beginning of a process and conversation" that, with other voices weighing in, culminated Tuesday.

And on Wednesday, a day after ending his campaign, Salmon formally endorsed Taylor Robson, telling his supporters that "our shared values can still emerge victorious if we stand behind a candidate with the temperament and experience to govern Arizona.

"Karrin Taylor Robson is that candidate," he said in a statement.

Both Lake and Taylor Robson's campaigns sought to embrace Salmon's allies after he decided to leave the race.

In a statement, Lake said Salmon's supporters are "some of the most passionate people in our party."

"Matt Salmon is a decent man and it does speak to his character that he wasn't willing to lead these Patriots on any further," she said. "As I've said from the beginning: If you love this country and our America First ideals, I welcome you into our movement with open arms."

Taylor Robson praised Salmon as "Arizona through and through" and a "leading voice in the conservative movement for decades." She said in a statement she had "no doubt Matt will continue to find ways to serve this state he loves." 

Salmon's supporters would be "naturally at home" in Taylor Robson's campaign, spokesman Matthew Benson said.

"They recognize the kind of challenges this state faces, and the fact that a platform built on political stunts and 'owning the libs' isn’t going to get the job done," he said, using libs, a favorite term of far-right politicians for liberals.

"Kari is unserious, unqualified and unfit to be governor, and we think Salmon's voters are going to see it the same way.” 

Salmon's experience focus of campaign

Matt Salmon answers a question about the state of Arizona's economy during a forum with candidates for the governor of Arizona hosted by the National Association of Women Business Owners at the Esplanade on June 15, 2022, in Phoenix.

As a young man, Salmon served his mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Taiwan. His interest in the region, and his ability to speak Mandarin, led to business and political success years later. 

Salmon got his start in politics in the Arizona Senate in 1991. It was just after the tumultuous tenure of Gov. Evan Mecham — who was impeached in 1988 — which was met with a group of more moderate Republicans entering the political playing field. 

DeMenna, who was at the time working in the state Senate, labeled Salmon and his peers "silk tie conservatives" — they were sophisticated, thoughtful, analytical, not reactionary, as the state had seen. 

“This was a cathartic moment, guys like Matt saved the state,” said DeMenna, a lobbyist who went to work on Salmon's 2002 gubernatorial bid and has been a Salmon supporter and adviser since then. 

Salmon, a telecommunications executive, served four years in the state Legislature before being elected to Congress in 1995. After six years in Congress, he opted not to run again, keeping his promise to follow a self-imposed term limit as part of the “Contract with America,” a slate of conservative policy proposals that included tax cuts, crime reduction measures and required a balanced budget. 

By the time he left Washington, Salmon had gotten two measures passed into law, the most significant pieces of his Congressional record.  

One 1999 bill set aside $25 million annually for the government to help combat computer crime. A second, called Aimee's Law, which held states financially accountable for subsequent crimes committed by released offenders, was ultimately folded into a broader criminal justice package. 

Returning to Arizona, Salmon ran a campaign for governor against Democrat Janet Napolitano, who won by just 11,000 votes.

After his defeat, Salmon returned to lobbying and consulting before deciding to run for congress, and winning, in 2012. He left the nation's capital in 2017 to lead the team of lobbyists for Arizona State University. 

Salmon has not said what he will do after ending his run for governor, nor if he will make a formal endorsement of another GOP candidate.

"I will announce next steps in the coming days, but, for now, I want to reiterate my eternal gratitude for all of the Arizonans who have supported me this year," Salmon said in a statement. "You are the backbone of this beautiful state, and I am eager to continue working with you in defense of freedom."

Reach reporter Stacey Barchenger at stacey.barchenger@arizonarepublic.com or 480-416-5669. Follow her on Twitter @sbarchenger.

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