He took his time making it official, but Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s announcement that he’s seeking a third term was one of the top political stories of 2017. It seems long ago, but was actually just September 2015, when Walker ended his campaign for President. “I believe that I’m being called to lead, by helping to clear the field in this race so that a positive, conservative message can rise to the top in this field,” Walker said.
The announcement setting off immediate speculation about when or if Walker would seek reelection. In June 2016, the state’s longest-serving governor, Tommy Thompson, offered a word of caution. “I’m not sure that he should” Thompson said, adding that Wisconsin politics had become much more divisive than he liked.
Last December, Walker said he’d stick by his decision to not announce until after work on the next state budget was complete. And with a new president in Washington, Walker was looking to “if the federal government sees fit to go back to what our founders intended, and send more responsibilities and resources back to the states, whether it’s in Medicaid, transportation or education, and other areas like that.”
Walker finally announced he was running for a third term just last month. By then a number of Democrats were also in the race, but Walker wasn’t concerned. “In the end it will be more of the same. We’ll either have a choice between continuing to move forward and building off the success we’ve had to create a comeback in Wisconsin that’s been positive for our citizens, and ensure that it’s positive for all of our citizens. Or we can go backwards. We can go back to the days of double-digit tax increases, billion dollar deficits and record job loss.”