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Bush Announces, Walker Still Holding Out on Presidential Bid

Gov. Walker
Eric Thayer/Getty Images
Gov. Walker would be one of the last to announce, now that Jeb Bush is officially in the presidential race.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bushofficially announced his bid for president Monday. This means Gov. Walker would be one of the last to enter the race. Walker has said he won’t announce until he signs the state budget.

Both Gov. Walker and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush have been barnstorming the country, mainly pursuing Republican donors and activists. They will select their party’s nominee for next year’s race for the White House.

Some positions the two take are similar. For instance Bush boasted of Florida’s statewide voucher program at a CPAC convention in February.

“We did have the first statewide voucher program and we have more school choice in Florida than any other state in the country and we have the largest virtual school," Bush says.

Walker was there too touting his actions to hold down government spending.

“We are a state that had been taxed and taxed and taxed and today I’m proud to say, after four years as governor, we’ve reduced the burden on hard working taxpayers by nearly $2 billion,” Walker says.

Now, Bush will officially climb into the race for president, while Walker waits. And it appears he’ll be one of the last. The Wisconsin governor said he won’t announce his decision until he signs the state budget, but GOP legislators are deadlocked on several issues.

UW-Milwaukee Professor Mordecai Lee doesn’t think the delay matters much.

“Now instead of the declaration of candidacy being the first step, it seems to be way down the line. It’s sort of like step ten. Certainly Gov. Walker has demonstrated that he can run a full-fledged campaign without being a declared candidate,” Lee says.

What the governor can do, in the meantime, is raise unlimited amounts of money to help him, according to Chris Murray of the Les Aspin Center for Government. Rules and limits kick-in when you’re a candidate.

“This idea of a formal announcement is getting to be of less and less importance because of the role of Super PACS and the modern presidential campaign finance system is that you can raise money or have people raising money on your behalf without being a formally announced candidate,” Murray says.

While there may be benefits to waiting, Michael Kraft says there is also risk to much further delay. Kraft is a political science professor at UW-Green Bay. He wonders whether a couple developments have caught Walker by surprise.

“There’s a big consideration which the governor didn’t anticipate early on and that is he and his budget have been a subject of contention within the state of Wisconsin. The next statewide polls might show a further decline in his job approval rating,” Kraft says.

The most recent Marquette Law School poll from April shows Gov. Walker’s approval ratings in Wisconsin falling eight points to 41 percent. Kraft predicts when Gov. Walker does make it official, he’ll roll out his campaign in grand fashion.

Marti was a reporter with WUWM from 1999 to 2021.
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