Walker ends run for presidency as funds dry
Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, whose early glow as a Republican presidential contender was snuffed out with the rise of anti-establishment rivals, announced that he was quitting the race and urged some of his 15 rivals to do the same so the party could unite against the leading candidate, Donald J. Trump.
Walker’s pointed rebuke of Trump gave powerful voice to the private fears of many Republicans that the party risked alienating large parts of the American electorate — Hispanics, women, immigrants, veterans, and most recently, Muslims — if Trump continued vilifying or mocking those groups as part of his overtures to angry and disaffected voters.
Still, Walker’s exit was not a selfless sacrifice: He was running low on campaign cash, sliding sharply in opinion polls, losing potential donors to rivals and unnerving supporters with a stream of gaffes, like saying he would consider building a barrier wall along the Canadian border.
Appearing ashen and drained at a brief news conference late Monday in Madison, Wis., Walker said the Republican presidential field was too focused on “how bad things are” rather than on “how we can make them better for everyone.”
“Today I believe that I am being called to lead by helping to clear the field in this race so that a positive, conservative message can rise to the top of the field,” Walker said. “With this in mind, I will suspend my campaign immediately.
“I encourage other Repub- lican presidential candidates to consider doing the same,” he said, “so that the voters can focus on a limited number of candidates who can offer a positive, conservative alternative to the current front-runner.”
None of Walker’s rivals appeared poised to take him up on the suggestion of bowing out.
Walker’s departure is likely to have little impact given the sprawling field. He was competing most aggressively in Iowa, which he deemed a must-win state, but he had fallen from first place to 10th in a recent poll there.
And Walker’s message — a tale of conservative triumph over labor unions and other entrenched Democratic interests in a Midwestern swing state — plainly failed to connect.