Walker won’t challenge Baldwin for U.S. Senate
Former two-term Republican Gov. Scott Walker is closing the door to a potential 2024 U.S. Senate run but has left another one open for a future presidential campaign, though not in this cycle.
Asked if he was interested in challenging Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin next year, Walker made it clear he’s sticking with his job as president of Young America’s Foundation, a conservative youth organization.
“Plus, I don’t see myself in the Senate,” Walker told the Journal Sentinel Monday. “After getting so much done as Governor, I would be bored as Senator.”
Walker said he’s committed to Young America’s Foundation “through (at least) 2025.” He said that work is important, noting that in the 2022 Wisconsin race for governor, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers piled up huge margins among those ages 18 to 29.
Last week, Walker told the New York Times that he still had presidential aspirations, just not this year. In 2016, Walker was briefly the Republican frontrunner before dropping out of the race. Evers unseated Walker as governor in 2018.
In a separate interview with the Journal Sentinel last week, Walker said: “I’m literally 25 years younger than President Biden, so I have time. The work I’m doing with young people right now is so critically important. When you look at the margins — the 18- to 21-year-olds — 75% or higher are voting liberal. We have to get our core values aligned with where they had been in the past. We need to make inroads or it won’t matter if I run or anyone else does.”
Wisconsin Republicans still don’t have any announced candidates to take on Baldwin next year. Baldwin has not yet officially announced she’s running for a third term.
Several Republicans are weighing the race, including Madison businessman Eric Hovde, former Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr., and Franklin businessman Scott Mayer.