Rick Wiley (Photo: WRN)
A bleak financial outlook appears to have been a main reason behind Governor Scott Walker abandoning his presidential campaign.
Walker abruptly exited the 2016 race for the Republican nomination on Monday, amid reports that his campaign was facing mounting debt and that fundraising had trailed off. The governor’s poll numbers had been spiraling downward after the first GOP debate in August. He then fell below the one percent mark after a debate earlier this month.
In interviews with multiple national outlets, campaign manager Rick Wiley said the governor had been struggling with fundraising since the August debate in Ohio. Wiley told Politico that a fundraising swing through Texas was supposed to raise a half million dollars, but only brought in $184,000. A fundraising mailer also ended up costing more to send out that in brought in. The governor only had about a million dollars on hand, Wiley said
Wiley said he proposed a plan that would see the governor scale back his national staff to about 20 people, while pulling back to focus on Iowa. Even with the cuts, Wiley warned raising enough money to sustain the campaign at that level could be difficult. “I presented it to him and then I said, ‘You know, it’s going to be tough right now with the environment that we’re in for us to raise enough to sustain this plan,'” Politico reported.
Walker has kept a low profile since making the announcement on Monday that he was leaving the race. On Tuesday, his office tweeted a photo of him meeting with staff at the Capitol. The governor was also expected to speak with campaign donors today about his decision to leave the race.