Walker needs to punt. He is a nice guy but it is time to clear the decks.
Yep. Now that Cruz has declared himself a candidate, Walker should state: " There's only room for ONE real conservative in the Republican primary. We need to unite RIGHT NOW, early, behind Cruz -- I'll save my run for 2020 or 2024."
There are only two Republicans on the radar that I see who compete for Cruz's voters. One is Sarah Palin, and I doubt she would enter the race after Cruz has declared because she wants to HELP him. The other is Scott Walker. Walker isn't going to pull primary votes away from Jeb, Christie, or any other GOPe candidate. He will pull votes away from Cruz. And thus split, because conservative Republicans failed to unite early behind a single candidate, the primary votes such that a GOPe candidate walks away with the nomination.