Walker planning to seek a third term as governor
MADISON - Voters can erase any doubt they might have about whether Gov. Scott Walker will seek a third term.
The Republican governor for months has signaled he’ll run for re-election next year, but he will make his plans abundantly clear Saturday in a speech at the state Republican Party convention in Wisconsin Dells.
“I’m ready to help lead Wisconsin forward for four more years. But I need your help,” Walker is to tell his base Saturday, according to excerpts from his speech released by his campaign.
In another sign he’s gearing up for a re-election bid, Walker on Friday named former state party executive director Joe Fadness as his campaign manager.
A number of Democrats have flirted with running for governor, but several have ruled out mounting campaigns in recent weeks.
Brandon Weathersby, a spokesman for the state Democratic Party, said his party is “building a true grassroots operation” to defeat Republicans next year.
“After a failed run for president, a sputtering state economy that fell to 32nd in the nation in private sector job growth un-
der his watch, and failing to find a long-term solution to fix our state’s fourth worst in the nation transportation infrastructure, Gov. Walker won’t be able to convince Wisconsinites to re-elect him for another term,” Weathersby said by email.
Walker will address the convention Saturday morning and then head back to his son Alex’s graduation from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“People often ask me if I am going to run again in
2018. Well, with record levels of employment in the state of Wisconsin, the better question is, ‘Why wouldn’t I run for re-election?’ ” Walker is to say in his speech, reprising a sentiment he has expressed in recent weeks.
Walker, who had a 45% approval rating in a March survey by Marquette University Law School, has said he won’t make a final decision on whether to run until he finalizes the state budget. That’s slated to happen by the end of June.
But in naming Fadness as his campaign manager, Walker provided further evidence of a likely reelection bid. Fadness worked for Walker’s campaign in the 2010 cycle before going on to run the state Republican Party from 2013 to 2015. He has spent the last two years with the governor’s campaign.
“Joe Fadness has been a trusted member of my team from the very start, and I couldn’t be more proud to have him with me now,” Walker said in a statement. “As I finalize my decision, having a campaign manager as skilled and bright as Joe putting together a team and building the infrastructure necessary for victory gives me even greater faith that we can continue to move Wisconsin forward.”