Posted on 07/06/2015 5:06:13 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
His megadonors are from Chicago. His brain trust is from Wisconsin. And Iowa is the campaign linchpin.
When he formally announces his presidential bid in a Milwaukee suburb next week, Scott Walker’s campaign will have an unmistakably Midwestern stamp on it, from a stump speech that features giant Midwestern retailer Kohl’s to a primary season strategy pegged to Iowa and Michigan.
The idea is to position the Wisconsin governor as the favorite son of the Midwest, where he hopes to run up the score beginning with Iowa next February. Walker has so far raised nearly $30 million for his effort, according to two sources briefed in his campaign’s finances — much of it collected from powerful heartland benefactors.
But the drawbacks of his approach are already beginning to surface: Walker sometimes seems a little too regional. His grasp on foreign policy has been unsteady and he’s not as well known as many of his GOP foes in the Northeast, especially on Wall Street, where his conservative sensibilities have met with resistance. Over the past year, for example, he’s waged a protracted push to secure the backing of Paul Singer, a New York City-based hedge fund manager and prominent Republican patron, visiting him alone or with small groups on at least three separate occasions. In one recent get-together, Walker even briefed the billionaire on his recent trip to Israel.
But Singer, said several sources familiar with the overtures, has been cool to the Wisconsin governor, turned off by his support for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. So, too, have been two other Manhattan-based big donors, Dan Loeb and Cliff Asness, the sources said. All three donors have been vocal supporters of gay rights.
Walker, whose pitch to potential contributors also points to his lengthy record of winning elections, hasn’t been completely shut out: He’s won support from the likes of John Paulson, a New York City hedge fund manager, and last month, while attending a Mitt Romney-hosted donor conference in Utah, the governor won over Philadelphia investor Ira Lubert.
Walker’s highest priority, however, is winning Iowa — where he spent part of his childhood and where polls show him with a lead over a large group of Republican rivals. Anything short of a win there could spell trouble for his prospects of winning the nomination.
But Walker is also beginning to lay the groundwork in Michigan, which is slated to hold its primary a little over a month after Iowa — and offers nearly twice as many delegates. In recent months, he has vigorously courted the DeVos family, some of the most prolific Republican contributors in the state, and state Attorney General Bill Schuette, a longtime office holder who introduced him at a recent Republican Party gathering in Ingham County. Schuette has so far remained neutral, though he’s widely expected to endorse former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, whose father he once worked for.
The governor’s advisers are in talks about attending the Mackinac Island Republican Leadership Conference in September, a biennial gathering of Michigan’s most powerful figures.
As he charts a course through the heartland, Walker has built a team of advisers with deep experience in the region. His expected campaign manager, Rick Wiley, once served as the executive director of the Wisconsin Republican Party, and two of the top staffers on his super PAC, Keith Gilkes and Stephan Thompson, are veterans of the state’s political battles. The campaign’s likely political director, Matt Mason, was once a top official for the Michigan Republican Party.
“[Walker is] very straightforward, he’s always on message. He’s probably the best I’ve ever seen in terms of keeping his message,” said former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, who briefly sought the Republican Party nomination in 2008. “He’s developing a base, a strong base.”
Midwestern money is fueling Walker’s campaign groundwork. His backers include venture capitalist Ken Griffin, a Chicago billionaire who’s plowed in around $100,000, and the Ricketts family, the Chicago Cubs owners who’ve given more than $1 million.
The governor was first introduced to the Ricketts — Joe Ricketts, the family patriarch, is the former chairman of the online brokerage firm TD Ameritrade — in late 2011, while he was combating a recall effort, and they immediately hit it off. In 2012, a Ricketts-funded independent group, Ending Spending, invested nearly $250,000 on a TV ad praising Walker for his “courage to keep his word, and keep Wisconsin moving forward.”
Over the next several years, Walker would join one of Ricketts’ sons, Todd, at his home in Wilmette, Illinois, for barbecues. In 2014, Walker campaigned for another Ricketts son, Pete, in his successful bid for Nebraska governor. This year, after first meeting with several other contenders, Todd Ricketts decided to get behind Walker’s presidential bid and held two fundraisers for him, one of which was attended by Republican megadonor David Koch.
The governor, however, is treading carefully in the Northeast. While his more moderate rivals camp out in New Hampshire — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie spent nearly the entire week there after his announcement there — Walker has spent far less time in the state. According to the Wisconsin State Journal, which has been tracking Walker’s political travel, he’s made only three trips to New Hampshire this year, half as many as he’s made to Iowa. It’s reflected in the state polls: According to the most recent CNN/WMUR poll, Walker is in fourth place. While aides insist they are not writing off the Granite State, they acknowledge their prospects are far brighter in Iowa.
They also see some promise in the South, where as the son of a Baptist preacher whose clashes with organized labor brought him national prominence, Walker’s conservative style could play well. Some advisers say it’s critical that, in addition to an Iowa win, the governor finish strongly in South Carolina.
“He may be focusing on the Midwest,” said Jim Klauser, a longtime Walker supporter in Wisconsin who chaired George W. Bush’s 2004 reelection campaign in the state. “But he’s really everywhere.”
These campaign workers are hired guns.
Grow up.
Hiring guns that have conservative blood on them is not encouraging to me, sorry that you consider the Mississippi episode acceptable.
As all good Aliskites do, you feel it is your duty and obligation to define my beliefs for the forum.
13. “Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.” Cut off the support network and isolate the target from sympathy. Go after people and not institutions; people hurt faster than institutions.
Alinskites
I’m not willing to overlook the disgusting episode in MS.
You are.
So, too, is Walker, apparently.
Name call all you want. Hiring Brad Dayspring was a mistake.
My comments stand.
As do mine.
The Left's War on Conservatism: Part 216 of 216 in the series Wisconsin's Secret War
Let me know when you're caught up; then we might have something important to discuss.
Not very good, imo. The MSM refuses to say his name for the general public to hear.
Brad Dayspring wanted to work for Bush. Walker’s campaign tried to hire him 3 months ago, but he was still hoping for Bush.
No one else would hire Dayspring because of his horrible ethics and mudslinging.
Wisconsin is 44th in private sector jobs growth and 50th in new business start ups. Google is a simple way to verify. Take the bureau of labor statistics and not campaign spin.
Walker promised 250,000 new jobs and Wisconsin has gained about half that.
WEDC is another area that is under investigation by the DA’s office, if you are interested in more research.
Meaning what? His views are somewhat isolationist and he doesn't think the American military should have bases in every part of the world?
If so, he has plenty of company. Isolationism has been inbred into midwestern politicians almost since the Spanish-American War. The fact of the matter is that the military has been so devastated by ObaMao, we are going to have to move in that direction no matter who is president.
I see this as an advantage, not a deal breaker.
I am not convinced of anything yet. He is probably in the middle on immigration, but pretty much everyone is in one way or another. Compromise is fine...it just depends where the give and take is. Even Cruz has indicated room for middle ground, he just says border first the rest later. I am not sold on Walker, nor anyone. I would have 100% confidence in Cruz and Jindal to be loyal to conservatives. I just don’t see Jindal rising to the top in this field. I hope Cruz can grow into the role of charismatic leader and run the table. It would be a fantastic turn for the better.
January 3, 2011 - Walker assumes Office of Governor of Wisconsin.
June 27, 2011: Walker Revokes In-state Tuition For Undocumented Students Attending Univ And Colleges In Wisconsin “- On Sunday, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (R) signed his two-year 2011-2013 budget, which included ending in-state tuition for undocumented students attending public universities and colleges. In-state tuition for undocumented students was approved two years ago by former Governor Jim Doyle (D) after the Hispanic community struggled for 10 years to pass it.”...
March 1, 2015: Fox News: Chris Wallace interviews Scott Walker:
“.....WALKER: And my view has changed. I’m flat out saying it. I’m — candidates can say that. Sometimes they don’t. I’m saying my —
WALLACE: So, you’ve changed from 2013?
WALKER: Absolutely. I look at the problems we’ve experienced for the last few years. I’ve talked to governors on the border and others out there. I’ve talked to people all across America.
And the concerns I have is that we need to secure the border. We ultimately need to put in place a system that works. A legal immigration system that works.
And part of doing this is put the onus on employers, getting them E-Verify and tools to do that. But I don’t think you do it through amnesty.”.....
March 2015: “We strongly dispute this account. Governor Walker has been very clear that he does not support amnesty and believes that border security must be established and the rule of law must be followed. His position has not changed, he does not support citizenship for illegal immigrants, and this story line is false,” she announced in an email to journalists Thursday afternoon.”
“I made it clear that for me, if somebody wants to be a citizen, they need to go back to their country of origin, get in line, no preferential treatment,” Walker said. “In terms of what to do beyond that, again, that’s something we got to work with Congress on.”
[CLICK and read Walker’s comments to Beck]:
April 20, 2015: Scott Walker Lays Out Pro American Worker Stance on Immigration “During an interview with Glenn Beck, Walker became the first declared or potential 2016 GOP presidential candidate to stake out a position on immigration fully in line with that of Senate Judiciary Committee subcommittee on Immigration and the National Interest chairman Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL). He also noted that he has been working with Chairman Sessions on the issue to learn more about it.
Walker is now the only potential or declared GOP presidential candidate to discuss the negative effects of a massive increase in legal immigration on American workers:...........................”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3281558/posts
Thing is, Walker has actually gotten things done policywise beyond mere talk.
Walker was a great leader on the state level but so far, as Presidential candidate, he doesn’t seem to have the same clear purpose and vision that he exhibited as Governor. I haven’t written him off yet, but so far he hasn’t given me a clear reason to vote for him, aside from the fact that he was a good Governor.
His parents are from Illinois - that makes him an illegal immigrant to Wisconsin! Everyone knows Wisconsin hates the FIBs. Come now I am being sarcastic and I was born, educated and raised in Wisconsin till I moved to Mississippi (seminary), than eventually Michigan where I make my home! well what he did in Wisconsin might just another catalyst to get the uSA back on track.
Are you serious? Cruz Is a wonderful speaker....his hope and change matra is awful familiar. Walker actually gets the job done. Cruz is in this to sell a book and hear himself speak. Go over to the Cruz fan threads and leave us alone.
You are getting mouthy with one of our best conservatives and FRiends on here and you have been here a short time......yep you better grow up or you’ll be gone faster then you can imagine.
How cute. How many jobs has Cruz provided? NONE. Oh sorry many a few from his book sales.
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