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| On Monday, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker became the 87th Republican candidate for President. |
Scott Walker will tell anyone who will listen that he never expected to put forth his name as a candidate for President in 2016. The affable 47-year-old Governor of the Badger State said in a hastily arranged announcement video, released on Monday, that he was "completely satisfied to remain in state politics," and that his family "strongly urged him to stay out of the 2016 campaign." Yet, this morning, Walker, who just 3 years ago faced a gubernatorial recall scare, became the 87th Republican candidate (*as of press time) to join the 2016 race.
Walker, an avid motorcyclist and "huge fan of Tim McGraw, wild game-hunting, and Carly Rae Jepsen," flirted with running for President in 2012, but instead chose to focus on his book, Unintimidated – A Governor's Story and A Nation's Challenge.
When contacted by The Sentinel Dispatch Journal Times, the husband and father of two sons explained his main reason for running: "About a month ago, Reince Priebus (Chairman of the Republican National Committee) called me up and we had a 15 minute heart-to-heart talk about democracy and the current dearth of choices facing the American public when it comes to the upcoming election. We talked a little about those who have already thrown their hat into the ring, like Jeb (Bush), Marco (Rubio), and Bobby (Jindal). We talked a little about Chris (Christie), Lindsey (Graham), and Ted (Cruz). We talked a bit about Rand (Paul), Mike (Huckabee), and a little about Rick (Perry). Really, when you think about it, America deserves more." According to Walker, Chairman Priebus said that "it is actually every American's duty as a citizen to run for President...and I agree with him. Each and every American is a unique individual and to deprive the nation of the choice to vote for them and their abilities is doing our great democracy a disservice. It actually should be mandatory that when an American turns 18, that they stand for their party's nomination. It should be as American as apple pie, baseball, and owning an assault rifle."
Walker indeed could be a rallying figure for moderates within the Republican party, as well as independent voters. In 2012, he was recalled after igniting controversy with a bill curtailing public-employee union collective-bargaining rights. In 2013, Walker signed a bill that requires women seeking abortions to undergo an ultrasound and doctors to show the women the image of the fetus.
Other declared Republican candidates thus far include former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard Carly Fiorina, and a bombastic, though affluent man from New York who holds the Guiness Book of World Records feat of Hairdo Which Most Resembles A Birds Nest.
From Our Milwaukee Bureau
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