Matt Salmon quits the governor's race and saves Arizona from The Slasher

We knew the real Matt Salmon was going to show up in this campaign.

He is the guy we thought he was.

We thought he was an adult, who if elected governor would act like a governor, not a Palm Beach adolescent.

He may have held Donald Trump’s coat on the campaign trail, but on the way out of the race he kicked his butt.

Salmon had a math problem. So did the state

The math wasn’t adding up, Salmon said in a written statement on Tuesday. “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.”

What was really top of Salmon’s mind, however, was a different kind of math.

Division.

Another view: Salmon's exit is a disaster for Kari Lake

If you divide by two the reality-based lane for the Republican nomination for governor, you leave the other lane wide open to a candidate who on her best day comes off as the knife-wielding other woman in “Fatal Attraction.”

On the day Salmon was graciously leaving the race, Kari Lake went on Fox News and put the bunny in the boiler.

“I’m actually shocked and appalled that Fox News would take a defamatory story like that, and we are pursuing legal action against this drag queen,” she hissed at Bret Baier.

Meanwhile, Lake had a meltdown on Fox

Baier, the Fox anchor, was stunned. He had had the very terrible bad idea of asking Lake a real question.

For instance, why is she attacking drag queens on the campaign trail after spending two decades cavorting with a drag queen named Richard Stevens, going to his shows, inviting him to her house, as the Washington Post reported?

Lake, who enjoys Trump’s endorsement, denied she ever invited Stevens to her house. That’s defamation! And when the summons arrives at the Fox corporate suite, those will be her lawyers – Dobermann, Dobermann & Pit.

Why it's an issue: Arizona Republicans want to ban kids from drag shows

Understand, this meltdown happened on Fox TV. The friendly confines. These are the good guys if you’re a Republican. And she was carving them up like a piece of meat. Think Glenn Close in a Benihana hat.

And what of Arizona Republicans watching all this, knowing Lake could one day be their governor?

They were seen stepping cautiously away from their TV sets, bringing inside all their small pets and double bolting the doors.

Salmon boosted the like-minded Taylor Robson

Now their precautions may be unnecessary. And all thanks to Matt Salmon.

“Republican primary voters deserve more than having their votes split on August 2nd,” Salmon said. “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.”

That clears the reality-based lane for the only other viable candidate in this primary – Karrin Taylor Robson, attorney, developer, executive, former member of the Board of Regents and lifelong Arizonan whose father and brother have served in public office here.

She was a wunderkind who at a very young age served Republican administrations in D.C. She has a mature understanding of the world and this state. And a genuine love for its people.

In short, she’s like Salmon, someone you can trust with authority.

Give Matt Salmon much credit here. His exit is a gift to Arizona Republicans and to the state of Arizona.

And an absolute godsend to bunny rabbits.

Phil Boas is an editorial columnist. Email him at phil.boas@arizonarepublic.com.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Matt Salmon quits governor's race as the hero of this horror film