Former Wisconsin governor Scott Walker passes on another campaign
'I'm not going to be a candidate for governor in 2026,' Walker said in a video posted to X on Sunday, thanking supporters who encouraged him to run again.
After Democrat Gov. Tony Evers announced last week that he would not seek reelection, the Republican had then shared a series of recent posts that appeared to tease a potential run, including wishlists of action items he thinks the Badger State's next leader should tackle and a message about his tenure as the 45th governor.
He had also posted an image of a 'Make America Great Again' hat that appeared to emphasize President Trump's roles as the 45th and 47th commander-in-chief, prompting questions about whether Walker would try to return as Wisconsin's 47th governor.
Evers, who ousted Walker in 2018 by just over 1 point, said he expects he would win if he ran for another term — but his exit tees up a competitive open race in the key battleground state.
Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez (D) entered the race last week, and other Democrats are expected to crowd in. Among the names being floated are Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, state Attorney General Josh Kaul and Wisconsin Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski.
On the Republican side, Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann and suburban Milwaukee businessman Bill Berrien have announced bids.
Walker in his video announcement pledged to put focus on reaching young voters through the conservative nonprofit Young America's Foundation, which he serves as president.
'To win in this state, we've got to do better with younger voters. When I last successfully ran for re-election, we took 47 percent of the vote of people age 18-29. Eight years later, the Republican running for governor took just 30 percent of the vote with that group,' he said.
And though he dashed ideas about a 2026 run, he didn't rule out future ambitions.
'I'm not going to be a candidate, at least not next year. That doesn't mean I'll never run again,' Walker said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Chicago Tribune
3 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
FBI agrees to help find Texas Democrats in Illinois after the lawmakers fled in redistricting battle, US Senator says
Texas Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn said Thursday the FBI has granted his request to assist Texas law enforcement in locating House Democrats who fled the state, setting up a potential confrontation with Illinois Democratic officials who have vowed to protect them. 'I am proud to announce that Director Kash Patel has approved my request for the FBI to assist state and local law enforcement in locating runaway Texas House Democrats,' Cornyn said in a statement. 'I thank President Trump and Director Patel for supporting and swiftly acting on my call for the federal government to hold these supposed lawmakers accountable for fleeing Texas. We cannot allow these rogue legislators to avoid their constitutional responsibilities.' The decision by Patel and the Trump administration represents the latest escalation in what has become a national battle between Republicans and Democrats after Texas House Democrats left the state Sunday to deny Republicans a quorum to approve a new mid-decade redistricting plan that would flip five Democratic congressional seats to the GOP. The new map, encouraged by Trump, is aimed at helping ensure Republicans maintain their narrow U.S. House majority in next year's midterm elections and during the president's final term. It was unclear what the FBI's activities would entail since the Texas lawmakers have not been charged with state or federal-level criminal activity. They are facing civil warrants for leaving the state, but they are unenforceable outside of Texas. As for locating the Texas lawmakers, the bulk of them are staying at the same hotel in far west suburban St. Charles, where they went after arriving at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on Sunday night. Their hotel was the subject of a bomb threat on Wednesday that caused them to be evacuated during a search, which turned up nothing. Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker said his administration was closely coordinating with state and local law enforcement to protect the Texas House delegation. 'We've had to react from a law enforcement perspective here in the state by calling our state police, local law enforcement, making sure that they're protecting the people who are staying at that hotel, including the Texas visitors that we have,' Pritzker said Wednesday, at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield. The Democratic governor didn't directly answer what concrete steps Illinois State Police were taking to shield the Texas legislators from possible efforts to send Texas Rangers or FBI agents to bring them back to Texas. In making his original request for federal assistance, Cornyn wrote that the FBI 'has tools to aid state law enforcement when parties cross state lines, including to avoid testifying or fleeing a scene of a crime.' 'Specifically, I am concerned that legislators who solicited or accepted funds to aid in their efforts to avoid their legislative duties may be guilty of bribery or other public corruption offenses,' Cornyn
Miami Herald
3 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
Trump orders new census to exclude those in the U.S. 'illegally'
Aug. 7 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump Thursday posted on Truth Social that he has directed the U.S. Department of Commerce to work on a new census that doesn't count people who are "in our country illegally." "I have instructed our Department of Commerce to immediately begin work on a new and highly accurate CENSUS based on modern day facts and figures and, importantly, using the results and information gained from the Presidential Election of 2024. People who are in our Country illegally WILL NOT BE COUNTED IN THE CENSUS. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" the Truth Social post said. The post did not specify exactly what he meant by those here "illegally" or information gained from the election. In Trump's first term, he tried to change the census questionnaire to ask a question about citizenship status. But the Supreme Court blocked it, saying the administration did not provide adequate grounds for adding the question and called the government's argument "contrived." The American Civil Liberties Union had challenged the question in New York federal court and the Supreme Court. Thursday's declaration comes as Trump continues his push to make Republican-leaning states redraw their districts to make them more favorable to U.S. House of Representatives candidates before the 2026 midterms. The fight in Texas has created a showdown between the state's elected Democrats and Republicans, with the Democrats fleeing the state to deny Republicans the minimum number of lawmakers necessary to pass legislation. The passage of congressional maps, supported by Trump, would reportedly lock in five GOP seats to the House. According to the Census Bureau's website, "The census tells us who we are and where we are going as a nation and helps our communities determine where to build everything from schools to supermarkets, and from homes to hospitals." The decennial U.S. Census is designed to count every resident in the United States and is mandated by Article I, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, the Census site says. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Epoch Times
3 minutes ago
- Epoch Times
FBI's Patel Has Responded to Request to Help Arrest Texas Democrats, Senator Says
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said on Thursday that the FBI responded to his request to help arrest state House Democratic lawmakers who left the state in a bid to block a GOP-led redistricting effort. Earlier this week, Cornyn sent a letter to the FBI and its director, Kash Patel, to request federal assistance in apprehending the Texas House Democrats who fled to other states, such as Illinois, Massachusetts, and New York, in a bid to block Republicans from conducting House business.
