Dear Editor,
At the regular meeting this month, Governor Candidate Matt Salmon told the Kingman Republican Women that he is a fighter for conservative beliefs, is 100% pro-life, and supports the death penalty for heinous crimes.
“I have done everything I can to protect the sanctity of life and I believe the 2nd amendment is there to protect the rest of the constitution,” he said. “That is what it is there for, to protect us from a tyrannical government. I won’t compromise on the 2nd amendment.”
Salmon served two terms in the Arizona Senate and three terms in the U.S. Congress. During his first Congressional term, he pledged to term limit himself and kept his promise to step down after his third term.
He highlighted three cornerstones of his campaign: border protection, preserving law enforcement, and election integrity as well as other crucial issues.
Salmon said he swore to uphold and will swear again to uphold and defend against all enemies foreign and domestic, as well as defend the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and State’s Rights. He stated that for a hundred years the states have been letting the federal government walk all over them and tell them what to do.
“We need our governors to stand up and tell the federal government to pound sand and use (the Constitution) to do it,” he declared.
As to border protection, he said we are being invaded and it is time to defend our border with tools that are available, such as trespass laws and declaring disaster areas where illegals are coming into the country, and then using border sheriffs to arrest the trespassers.
Salmon advised the group that election integrity is high on his agenda. “We are going to make sure our elections count for something,” he stated. “I am the only candidate running for Governor that has put out a ten-point plan about getting our elections back.”
“We must make the ban on ballot harvesting permanent in Arizona,” he said. “92% of the vote was by early ballot which does not require voter identification.” He emphasized that when he is Governor, it will be required, and he won’t sign any other bill until it passes. Another solution, according to Salmon, is getting back to paper ballots and voting at the precinct level rather than voting centers and making laws that actually have teeth.
“We have got to make sure that the consequences fit the crime,” he said. “I want to make sure, as Governor, that anybody that violates the trust of the Arizona people on election law are punished severely.”
Salmon also stated that he believes we need to zero out Arizona income tax in order to compete with Florida and Texas.
As for education, he praised teachers but had harsh words for the teacher’s union, saying that they are all about a woke agenda and doing everything they can to push liberal causes. He advised that it can be fixed, first and foremost, by having the tax dollars follow the child to enable parents to decide which schools their children attend.
“[I’m] not sure I can say I will be leaving a better America right now to my kids and my grandkids,” stated Salmon. Referring to a Ronald Reagan quote regarding freedom being one generation away from extinction, he stated that would not happen on his watch.
Salmon noted when he ran for Congress, he ran and won against the establishment. He emphasized that he was successful because he has a reputation as someone who actually fights for the people and not the stereotypical Republican Party.
Salmon pledged that as Governor he will not close businesses down, close schools, or mandate vaccines.
“We are not going to have them push these woke agendas down our throat,” he declared. “If you want to get a vaccination, I support your right to do that, but nobody should be forcing [you] to do something [you] don’t want to do.”
Asked about President Donald Trump’s endorsement of his opponent, Kari Lake, he said he cannot get inside President Trump’s head; however, there was an influential former member of Trump’s staff who told lies about Salmon.
As to Lake, he stated that in his 30 years [in politics] he has been fighting for conservative causes, attended 50 pro-life rallies, and probably an equal number of pro-second amendment rallies, and never saw Lake once. He added that she contributed to President Obama’s campaigns and did not contribute a single dime to a conservative, ever.
“I think the people, by the time this race is through, will know her for what she is and it’ll be a different story,” he declared.
Becky Foster, 1st V.P. Programs
Kingman Republican Women
