Scott Walker Not Ruling Out Another Wisconsin Run

Scott Walker, the former Republican Wisconsin Governor who served in office from 2011-2019, is mulling another bid for statewide office.

The Washington Post reported Tuesday that Walker is “not ruling anything out” for 2022 and has his sights set on running for the Senate or governorship should an opportunity arise.

Wisconsin’s current governor, Tony Evers, is a Democrat who just last year defeated Walker for the office. Based on the results of a Marquett poll from January, Evers enjoys strong support for a bevy of his key budget and policy priorities, which include expanding Medicaid through federal funding, increases in education spending, and legalizing recreational marijuana.

Yet Walker has not ruled out a potential rematch in 2022:

“As you know, I think six months is a lifetime in politics,” Walker told the Post. “I’m not ruling anything out. My wife … told me, ‘Don’t pretend you wouldn’t ever running again.’”

Walker also has his eyes set on another office: the US Senate seat currently occupied by Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, who has strongly hinted at not seeking a third term in 2022.

“I would defer to him,” Walker said of Ron Johnson’s decision to seek reelection. “If he chose to run again, I wouldn’t run.”

In the meantime, Walker has used his time as a private citizen to barnstorm across the country campaigning in various states to enact a federal balanced-budget amendment by a constitutional convention.

The former governor chairs a nonprofit group that seeks to replicate his success as governor in calling for an unprecedented convention to amend the U.S. Constitution for a balanced-budget amendment in 2017, across other states. Walker intends to visit Idaho, Montana, Kentucky, and Virginia this summer.

Walker got heat from Wisconsin Democrats before departing office last year when he signed legislation that curbed the power of the newly elected Democratic governor and attorney general during a lame-duck session.

Wisconsin was an essential part of President Trump’s “blue wall” in 2016 that ultimately won him the presidency. The state is poised to be a key battleground again come 2020. Earlier this month, it was reported that Milwaukee, the state’s largest city, will host the 2020 Democratic National Convention.

Walker was one of 17 major candidates to launch a presidential campaign in 2016. After dropping out in September 2015, he endorsed Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. Since then, he has appeared at rallies in support of Trump.