NATIONAL HARBOR, MD — Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker hinted to supporters he is potentially declaring a run for the presidency very soon. Attendees chanted “run Scott Run” when the Wisconsin Republican previously gave fighting remarks about his battle with labor unions to audience members at the Gaylord Hotel’s main Potomac Ballroom on Thursday.
“Back in 2009, we were thinking about as a family, when I sat down and talked about and thought about and ultimately prayed about getting into the race for governor,” He said to packed room full of supporters at a Citizens United coffee reception Friday morning at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).
He added, “The reason we did even though we knew it would be difficult. That time we didn’t know how difficult it would be after the election but we knew it was difficult going in. But we prayed about it and ultimately decided to get in because we were worried back then. We were worried that our sons and others like them would grow up in a state that wasn’t as great as the state Tonette and I grew up in.”
Walker described his rise in popularity as a state governor to a national figure when he pushed legislation that would reduce union collective bargaining power. “I remember early back in 2011 when we took on the powerful special interests not only in my state but many of them are based right here in the DC area. There was this flow of protesters. There was money spent on TV ads and at one point I think Time magazine actually said—the headline was ‘Dead Man Walker,’” he said noting his later successes and eventual re-election.
Walker included in his remarks that he has similar worries today as he did in 2009, when he first considered a run for Wisconsin governor. “But I’m not just worried. I’m not a pessimist. I’m an optimist. I have legitimate worries about our economy—about our financial standing. Recently, I have worries for my children and the future generations about what’s happening in the world of ISIS and other elements of radical Islamic terrorism and those things worry me as they should worry each and every one of you,” he said.
Walker, specifically highlighting important primary and general election states, went further stating, “But I’m not a pessimist. I’m an optimist and I’ve looked what’s happened not just in Wisconsin but in Michigan, and Ohio, and Iowa, and Florida and I realized all across America for the last four years the one thing that should give us optimism for the future of this country is the states have had the good fortune of electing common sense conservative reformers to be their governors and their state leaders.”
Walker along with former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and Texas Senator Ted Cruz are 2016 GOP potential candidates that are considered contenders for CPAC’s annual straw poll. The straw poll results will be revealed when CPAC wraps up on Saturday afternoon.