Scott Walker

Walker Pulls Out of Governor’s Race

Decision makes Mark Green the Republican frontrunner 

Only two people are left in the race for governor for Wisconsin. The field got  smaller when one of the candidates quit.

Scott Walker announced March 24th that he would not run. Walker had been seeking the Republican Party’s nomination for governor.

The move by Walker means only one candidate remains in the race on the Republican ticket. That candidate is Mark Green. He is a Congressman from the Green Bay area.

Will face Governor Doyle in 2006 Election

The Republican who gets the party’s nomination will face Jim Doyle in the general election. Doyle is the current governor. He also is the most likely nominee for the Democratic Party.

Doyle is seeking re-election. He won a four-year term in 2002.

Walker is Milwaukee County Executive. He plans to finish serving the rest of his term. That term ends in 2008.

Without Walker in the race, the Republicans will not have a primary election. Democrats also will not need to have a primary election. Doyle is the only candidate seeking the nomination.

Primary elections are held to reduce the field of candidates in each party to one nominee. The primary election in Wisconsin is scheduled for September 12. The primary will still be held all across Wisconsin. The primary is still needed because candidates for other offices will be on the ballot.

Money is a factor in Walker’s decision

The general election is November 7th. Voters will elect a governor on that day.

Walker had been running for governor for more than a year when he decided to withdraw. He said it became clear to him that he could not raise enough money to run a good campaign in all 72 counties in the state.

Candidates for office are allowed to accept campaign donations to pay for their races.

Green had already raised more money than Walker.

Green was able to use money for the governor’s race that had been collected for his Congressional campaign. Green also was considered to be the favorite choice of many of the Republican Party’s most powerful members.

Walker said that a primary campaign would use up resources needed to defeat Doyle in November.  Republicans believed a primary would give Doyle an edge in the election.

Decision called a “wonderful surprise”

Green said Walker’s decision was a “wonderful surprise.” Green said the Republican Party should carry on Walker’s conservative policies.

Green is now free to focus his campaign on Doyle. The race could be the most expensive campaign in state history. Doyle has said he plans to raise $12 million for his campaign.

Party chose candidate, not voters

An aide to Doyle said it’s too bad that the Republican Party chose its nominee instead of the voters.

Melanie Fonder is the spokesperson for Doyle’s campaign.

“This is a really bad day for the Republicans,” Fonder said when Walker made his announcement. “No one is more vulnerable (at risk of losing) than Mark Green. He has a record of extreme, right-wing votes that will come back to haunt him.”

Fonder also said Doyle will not change his campaign. She said Doyle will continue to keep fighting for middle-class families. She also said he will keep talking about how to make life more affordable for people in Wisconsin.

Source: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; articles by Dave Umhoefer, Greg Borowski, and Stacy Forster