Scott Walker was able to emerge victorious in his third election in four years and returns as Wisconsin’s governor. Gov. Walker’s win coincided with a dominant night for Republicans around the country. Despite the fact that Gov. Walker’s tenure has been marred with controversy, he was able to defeat Democratic candidate Mary Burke with relative ease.
Mary Burke was able to overcome a very large polling gap from early 2014 but was never able to truly gain enough momentum and popularity in order overcome the incumbent, Gov. Walker was especially dominant in rural counties while Mary Burke was only able to appeal to Dane and Milwaukee counties.
Wisconsin’s next four years are poised to follow Walker’s far right ideals that he has maintained throughout his time in office. Walker has championed small government especially regarding economic growth as well as openly advocating for smaller tax rates for businesses throughout Wisconsin. He has been continually against higher government spending and while he has failed to live up to the job creation expectations he set for himself two years ago, he remains steadfast in his belief that his approach will create more jobs for Wisconsin. Additionally, Gov. Walker has been in line with the religious wing of the GOP and has been openly anti-abortion and anti-gay marriage.
Walker has also continued to stand vehemently against the implementation of the Affordable Care Act and has become almost a beacon of defiance against the Obama administration. His open opposition of President Obama and Democrats has vaulted Scott Walker into the GOP spotlight and vaulted his popularity within the party.
The more national attention Walker receives, the more important it will be to know the name Rebecca Kleefisch. As the current lieutenant governor of Wisconsin, she is the next in line for the governorship if Scott Walker were to run and be elected president of the United States. A prospect which is not completely unfounded according to many Republicans.
It was largely agreed upon by Democrats and Republicans that a Walker loss last night would have been a death nail in any presidential attempt in 2016. Reince Priebus, chair of the Republican National Committee, said it would not be a “good night” if Republicans won control of the U.S. senate but Walker lost re-election. This is an obvious red flag that the RNC is eyeing Walker as a presidential contender in 2016.
Walker himself seems to be leaving the door open to the idea of running for president. In his victory speech last night, Walker referenced Washington D.C. negatively ten times in ten minutes, clearly setting himself up to run as an anti-Washington Republican much like his political hero growing up, Ronald Reagan. Walker himself has yet to either confirm or deny the murmurs that he will run for president saying to the Green Bay Press Gazette “I’ve never made a time commitment anywhere I’ve been in office. I’ve always made promises about what I would do and how I would do it. I’m not going to change now.” In presidential elections, Wisconsin has given its electoral votes to the Democratic candidate in every election since 1988. Whether Walker can buck that trend will remain to be seen and largely depend on how he spends his next two years as Wisconsin’s governor.
How do you feel about Gov. Walker’s re-election? Please send all of your feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
