Scott Walker Officially Quits 2016 Race, Crowded Republican Field Reduced By One
Scott Walker officially resigned from the crowded field of Republicans vying for the GOP’s nomination for president in 2016, delivering a parting shot at Donald Trump on his way out, MSN is reporting.
In a statement posted on Facebook, the 47-year-old Wisconsin governor encouraged the remaining Republican candidates to unite to push out the “front runner” — referring to Donald Trump, whom Walker did not identify by name.
“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. I encourage 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 front-runner.”
Walker entered the crowded field with an impressive list of conservative credentials, says Christian Science Monitor writer Linda Feldmann, including a history of busting unions during his tenure as Governor of Wisconsin, as well as a fiery Iowa campaign speech that energized Walker’s Republican base. For a time, Walker was considered a likely eventual nominee.
Unfortunately for Scott Walker, his campaign faltered due in large part to the tremendous amount of media attention brought on by the Republicans’ current front-runner Donald Trump, whose combination of bombast and penchant for sticking his foot in his mouth has brought massive media attention.
There were other missteps in Walker’s campaign as well. In London, Walker dodged questions about whether or not he believes in evolution, and he compared fighting ISIS to fighting labor unions. In the span of a week, Walker also took three different positions on so-called “anchor babies” — that is, babies born on U.S. soil and thus automatically granted citizenship, according to the Constitution.
In a series of tweets, former Walker campaign aide Liz Maire took Walker to task, publicly, for the failings in his campaign.
1. Scott Walker could, I think, have been a competent President. However, like almost all Rs, for awhile now, he hasn’t been my 1st choice.
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) September 21, 2015
2. Walker did a number of things wrong in this race. This is the beginning of what will be a lengthy list.
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) September 21, 2015
You can read the rest of Liz’s tweets outlining what she believes were Walker’s missteps on her official Twitter feed. For those not interested, she accuses Walker of pandering, flip-flopping, and having a bloated campaign staff, as well as multiple other failures.
With Scott Walker officially out of the race, the number of announced Republican candidates for President in 2016 is down to 15.
[Image courtesy of Getty Images/Pete Marovich]
