The race for the Republican gubernatorial nomination has intensified over the recent days, as key candidates and political players make their moves to influence the outcome of the upcoming primary election. Former Congressman Matt Salmon’s exit and subsequent endorsement of Karrin Taylor Robson was followed by Gov. Doug Ducey, who offered the Phoenix-area businesswoman a full-throated statement of support of his own.
While the latest poll taken after Salmon dropped out shows Trump-endorsed Kari Lake still in the lead by five points, the endorsements are revealing a split between establishment moderates aligning themselves with Robson, and conservatives, along with America First Republicans, aligning with Lake.
Lake welcomed support from moderates, distinguishing them from politicians who are part of the the swamp, one of her frequent criticisms of Robson. “We have a lot of moderates with us,” Lake told The Arizona Sun Times. “Independents are coming over from the Democrats. But Robson is a swamp creature, pure and simple. Establishment of creatures.”
Ohio Predictive Insights, which conducted the most recent poll of Republican primary voters in early July, stated, “Kari Lake has a tight grip on the populist, Trump-driven conservatives, while Robson is banking on the traditionalist, establishment wing of the party.”
Lake’s endorsements include Gen. Michael Flynn, former Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell, “America’s Mayor” and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, Rep. Paul Gosar (R-04-AZ), Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), talk radio host and former California Republican gubernatorial candidate Larry Elder, author Dinesh D’Souza, and the Arizona Fraternal Order of Police.
She also has some of the most conservative members of the Arizona Legislature backing her, including State Sen. Warren Petersen (R-Mesa), State Sen. Nancy Barto (R-Phoenix), and State Sen. Sonny Borrelli (R-Lake Havasu). State Rep. Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek), who was the only Arizona legislator to receive a perfect score from the American Conservative Union last year, urged Salmon voters to switch to Lake “as the ONLY America First candidate in the race for Governor now.”
In contrast, Robson has one of the most moderate Republican members of the Arizona Legislature backing her, State Senator T.J. Shope (R-Florence). Shope received one of the lowest scores from the American Conservative Union (ACU) among Republican legislators in Arizona – 78 percent.
Robson’s campaign is co-chaired by two former Arizona governors with mixed records as conservatives, Fife Symington and Jan Brewer. The Arizona Conservative Coalition labeled Brewer a “RINO” and rated her only 39.7 out of a possible 100 in 2013. Symington got elected to office as a moderate and occasionally got kudos from environmentalists. After leaving office, he hosted a fundraiser for Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-07-Ariz.) in 2014, who was at the time just a candidate. Since taking office, Gallego has acquired a 4.36 lifetime rating from the ACU.
Another endorsement came from Gilbert Mayor Brigette Peterson, who came under fire in April 2021 for supporting taxpayer-funded insurance for sex changes. The vote failed to pass the Gilbert City Council. In September 2021, she issued a proclamation which stated that racism, homophobia, transphobia, ageism, and discrimination perpetuate domestic violence. Judicial Watch investigated the town under her leadership for promoting “Marxist literature” and Black Lives Matter.
Glendale City Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff, another elected official who endorsed Robson, told The Arizona Republic that the “number one issue [for Glendale], in my opinion, is approval of the Prop. 400 extension.” Gov. Doug Ducey vetoed the extension this week. The extension was labeled the “Maricopa County Transit Slush Fund Tax” by the Arizona Free Enterprise Club due to the wasteful spending.
Another Robson endorsement came from Jim Click, a longtime Arizona car dealer known for supporting moderate Republicans like Mitt Romney and Jeff Flake. He endorsed Democrat Jonathan Mosher in the Pima County Attorney race in 2020.
The Arizona Farm Bureau’s PAC endorsed Robson, and they have a mixed record of endorsements, frequently endorsing moderate Republicans as well as Democrats. This year, the PAC endorsed a Democrat in the Second Congressional District, a swing district where Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick is not running for reelection.
Despite the lines being drawn between conservatives and moderates, the Salmon endorsement of Robson shook up the race a bit, said Arizona-based conservative consultant Constantin Querard, who is not working for any of this year’s gubernatorial candidates. “The Salmon endorsement does seem to be a big deal for Robson,” he told the Sun Times. After all, this is a guy who was supported by most of the top conservatives in the country.”
A poll conducted by Ohio Predictive Insights immediately after Salmon dropped out found that 80 percent of Salmon voters moved to Robson. While Salmon had a reputation for years as a solid conservative, he alienated much of the conservative base working as a lobbyist for ASU and heading up its now-defunct Chinese-backed Confucius Institute.
Robson herself is considered a moderate from her record serving as a regent for ASU. While there, she voted against a bill that the Arizona Legislature was considering – which is now law – banning abortions for fetal abnormalities like Down syndrome. She voted to give illegal immigrants subsidized tuition at Arizona universities, lower than American citizens in other states pay. Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich sued the universities over this and forced them to stop the practice. And she worked as a paid lobbyist for the leftist, open-borders Chicanos por la Causa in 2018.
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Photo “Kari Lake” by The Kari Lake. Photo “Karrin Taylor Robson” by Karrin Taylor Robson. Background Photo “Arizona State Capitol” by Hoozdo Hahoodzo. CC BY-SA 3.0.
