Matt Salmon in his gubernatorial campaign announcement video. /Screenshot via YouTube
By Jeremy Duda | Arizona Mirror
Former Republican Congressman Matt Salmon is running for governor, looking to win the prize that eluded him 20 years ago in one of Arizona’s closest gubernatorial elections.
Salmon launched his gubernatorial campaign Wednesday morning, running on a platform of border security, immigration enforcement, election integrity, expanding school choice and eliminating Arizona’s income tax.
“Today, the Arizona values we cherish are under attack from Washington and liberals here at home. Open borders and closed classrooms, crushing tax hikes and socialism, censorship and cancel culture. The radical Democrats are pushing the most far-left agenda in our lifetime,” Salmon said in a press statement. “We can’t allow liberal politicians to turn Arizona into California. We must protect the values that have made Arizona a beacon of opportunity.”
Salmon focused on several issues in his announcement. He said he’s committed to enforcing immigration laws and wants to use state resources to secure the border. On election integrity, he said he’ll strengthen voter identification laws and “permanently” ban the practice of third-party ballot collection, pejoratively referred to as “ballot harvesting.” Arizona banned the practice in 2016, and the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide soon on whether to uphold or strike down the law.
On education, Salmon said he wants to ban critical race theory, a field of study that racist historical practices are still imbued in modern institutions, which many conservatives view as promoting the idea that the U.S. and white Americans are inherently racist. He also pledged to expand school choice and hire more math and science teachers in K-12 schools. And he vowed to build on Arizona’s “strong economic foundation” and cut income taxes to put the state in line with Florida and Texas, both of which do not have income taxes.
“Here’s where I stand. I’m 100% pro-life. I was A-rated by the NRA. And I believe in strong borders and an Arizona first agenda,” Salmon said in an announcement video.
