Long speculated among Bearing Drift readers, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is considering suspending his presidential bid after a weak debate performance and sputtering poll numbers.
More from the New York Times:
Mr. Walker called a news conference in Madison at 6 p.m. Eastern time.
“The short answer is money,” said a supporter of Mr. Walker’s who was briefed on the decision. “He’s made a decision not to limp into Iowa.”
Mr. Walker’s intended withdrawal is a humiliating climb down for a Republican governor once seen as all but politically invincible. He started the year at the top of the polls but has seen his position gradually deteriorate, amid the rise of Donald J. Trump’s populist campaign and repeated missteps by Mr. Walker himself.
More soon… personally, I was hoping for Walker to stick around for the long haul. This would put two rather heavyweight contenders (Walker and Perry) on the outside earlier than most observers expected.
UPDATE: Twitterverse is pregnant with expectation on this one… Walker does indeed appear to be out.
From a Virginia perspective, it is a bit shocking given the tremendous firepower that Walker brought to the table via the Obenshain circle. We’ll probably never know how well Walker was doing in Virginia, but I suspect better than the lackluster national polling.
Still, given the fact that the Koch brothers were expected to ride to the rescue (and did not) followed by Trump’s wholesale purchase of affiliated Koch network staff? Walker is in the same boat as many other candidates expecting to bridge the divide between the populist and conservative wings of the party: Cruz, Perry, and Paul among them.
Walker is a good governor in a tough state to be a conservative, one who had a lot thrown on his shoulders early. The real shock here is that Walker was indeed a first-tier candidate… to have him out so soon and after making such waves in Virginia is surprising to say the least.
UPDATE x2 (Schoeneman): Confirmed
UPDATE x3: Need a clue as to whom Governor Walker is leaning towards in his absence? From Scott Walker’s statement:
Today, I believe that I am being called to lead by helping to clear the race so that a positive conservative message can rise to the top of the field. With that in mind, I will suspend my campaign immediately.
Right to rise, you say?
