SEPTEMBER 22, 2015
Well, that was fast.
A top-tier GOP Presidential candidate as recently as two months ago, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker shocked many in the political world on Monday when he announced that he was suspending his campaign, effectively dropping out of the race. Walker is now the second Republican candidate (after Rick Perry) to leave the race in as many weeks.
What happened? And why?
After delivering a forceful speech in neighboring Iowa in January, the Wisconsin governor quickly ruled the roost in Iowa polling, topping all polls for 24 straight weeks. With his anti-union and evangelical roots well known there, Walker was deemed to be the one acceptable establishment candidate (as opposed to Jeb Bush) by right-wing Iowa caucus goers. In fact, it was thought by many this spring that Walker could not only win Iowa but even the next contest in New Hampshire, a one-two punch that could effectively winnow the field. Add to that the rumor that Walker was the favored candidate of the billionaire Koch brothers, and the nomination seemed to be Walker’s to lose.
Then came Donald Trump.
As the billionaire’s poll numbers shot up, Walker’s began to sink and sink fast. By August, he had fallen to single digits. On Monday, CNN’s national poll registered Walker’s support as “asterisk %” (one-half of 1%).
When poll numbers crater, money dries up. From all reports, the Walker campaign was not a frugal one — in an effort to look like a first-class operation, the campaign spent money like one. By the end of last week, it reportedly became evident to the campaign that travel would have to be curtailed and its high-priced staff would go unpaid.
With the entry of Trump, all candidates were impacted, but none plummeted as quickly as Walker. Why? As good as Walker looked on paper — a Republican governor in a blue state who, because of a recall, won three elections in four years — once he hit the campaign trail, he proved to be a pretty lousy candidate.
There were those gaffes. In February, he compared Wisconsin teachers’ unions to ISIS. On his spring trip in Europe, he refused to answer any question on foreign policy or even if he believes in evolution, a response that prompted his British audience to laugh at him. He considered President Reagan’s firing of air traffic controllers in 1981 “the most significant foreign policy decision of my lifetime.” He wouldn’t rule out building a wall along American’s northern border to keep Canadians out. Finally, he offered at least three different contradictory answers on whether children born in this country should be considered citizens. On the stump and in debates, Walker clearly showed that he was not ready for prime time.
So why get out now? I suspect that Walker realized there was no clear path to the nomination for him, and with another debate set for October and the likelihood of being demoted to the kids’ table debate, he may have just wanted to leave when he could with his head held high so that he could keep some of his dignity and his political reputation.
Scott Walker knew just when to fold ’em. And now there are 15 left.
