Former Congressman Matt Salmon used a video to announce his entrance in the Republican gubernatorial primary in Arizona. June 16, 2021
Former U.S. Rep. Matt Salmon is dropping out of Republican primary race for Arizona governor.
Tuesday's 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.
Two lesser-known Republicans will also be on the ballot.
I've been blessed with the best supporters in the world – but numbers are numbers, and primary voters deserve more than having their votes split.
— Matt Salmon (@MattSalmonAZ) June 28, 2022
So, today, I am ending my #AZGov campaign for the same reason I entered it: Because it is what's best for the people of Arizona → pic.twitter.com/V2MaR10n9r
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