Walker called on other GOP candidates to leave the race to allow the anti-Trump vote to coalesce.
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Walker needed a standout performance in that debate, one that would validate his assertion that he was a Washington outsider with a fighting spirit.
“I’m not betting on any more horses yet”, Hubbard said.
But, regardless of his motivations, what Walker said is both true and rarely spoken about by candidates leaving races.
Walker’s opponents openly gossiped about the Wisconsin governor’s political challenges as they gathered in California for last week’s presidential debate. But I believe that Walker has done himself and his party a service, and that he has instantly become a leading contender for the vice presidential nomination. “It is unfortunate that the bluster of candidates overshadowed his substance”, Vos said.
“Today, I believe that I am being called to lead by helping to clear the field in this race so that a positive conservative message can rise to the top”.
“It was personally hard, but you know when it’s over”, said Cliff Hurst, who was Walker’s New Hampshire co-chairman. “Instead of talking about how bad things are, we want to hear about how we can make them better for everyone”, Walker said in his farewell statement.
During the short press conference, Walker took a swipe at the GOP front runner Donal Trump and “encourage[d] other Republican presidential candidates to consider doing the same, so the voters can focus on a limited number of candidates who can offer a positive, conservative alternative to the current frontrunner”, he said. His lack of knowledge about foreign affairs, numerous flip-flops and gaffes, and bland personality hurt him, as did growing public awareness about his shabby economic record in Wisconsin.
Rubio was quick to praise Walker, most likely in an outreach to Walker’s supporters. “When faced with a real choice, Republicans voters choose, literally, anyone but Scott Walker”.
In 2011, Perry jumped into the Republican race for president, convinced it was his time. To muddle through, however, he’d have to either radically trim the size of his quite big and expensive campaign staff or he’d have to raise more hard money.
“Gov. Walker has an awesome story to tell about turning Wisconsin around”.
Former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina gained the most from the heavily watched event, moving up from 3 percent to 15 percent to take second place in the race. That means his departure will have little near-term impact on reshuffling the field, some strategists say.
On Friday, a former Walker contributor said that the governor’s credibility in the state has dropped so low that Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch should be allowed to write the 2017-19 biennial budget.
Walker gave up on his White House bid on Monday, just 70 days after officially launching his campaign.
“It still remains to be seen how this shakes out, but it looks like it remains Trump against the other Republican candidates”, said another party strategist, Ron Bonjean. For a time, Walker was considered a likely eventual nominee. Walker also suffered a hit in his statewide support, with a Marquette University Law School poll released in August showing him with just a 39 percent approval rating.
Walker, 47, tried to appeal to religious conservatives, tea party conservatives and the more traditional Republican base.
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Candidates such as Mike Huckabee, Rand Paul, Chris Christie, Rick Santorum and Lindsey Graham have either not moved or moved downward since the race started.
