Scott Walker, a Wisconsin governor, announced on Monday, September 28th that he would be dropping out of the 2016 Presidential Race. In his resignation speech he stated that his reason was because he wanted the number of Republican candidates to decrease so that people are able to focus more attention on who will give them a positive conservative message, instead of recognizing the current front runner: Donald Trump. He encouraged the other candidates to follow suit.
His resignation came out just days after a CNN poll which put him at less than 1%. An insider states that this was a major factor in his decision to pull out of the race. This was a drastic drop from when he first entered the race in July. Originally he was a front runner in Iowa and donors and people from the conservative base. During the first primary debate on Fox he was actually ranked third following Trump and Bush.
Walker is said to have made the "Pawlenty" decision, this means that he resigned before gaining too much debt. In fact, many were not surprised at his decision, and say that he made the smart choice for his position.
A major reason for the decline in his poll ratings comes from his debate performance, which were not up to par. He failed to make and impact and display his ideas clearly to his audience. He would give different responses to the same question; for instance he gave three separate responses to his policy on birthright citizenship with in seven days. The voters were displeased with these inconsistencies which consumed his policies. After the CNN debate Walker was losing support in Iowa, which was the final nail in the coffin. He depended on Iowa, and with out it there seemed to be no clear path to the presidency.
What impact do you think Walker dropping out with have on the rest of the Republican candidates? Will more follow suit? And for what reasons do you think they will make this decision?
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-34317758
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/08/05/fox-news-announces-candidate-line-up-for-prime-time-debate/
http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/21/politics/scott-walker-drops-out-2016-election/
6 comments:
Republican voters deserve a smaller ballot in general. Too many candidates in the Republican party meld together in terms of their values and opinions. I believe the strongest candidate who represents a certain set of values should be the only candidate of their values running. Libertarians, Fiscal or Social Conservatives, Paleo or Neo conservatives, and moderates should only have one candidate each to represent their views. Many conservatives agree, for example, that Scott Walker and Rick Santorum share very little in differences. Why should there be two people running that aim to attract the same demographic with the same message. To continue with the Rick/Scott comparison, both want to "revive conservative values in America," both are trying to attract Christian Mid Westerners, and both are falling apart in the polls. I think once some candidates realize their striking similarities to other candidates, they will decide as Scott and Rick did, and drop out of the race to attempt to prevent a potential Trump victory. By dropping out, Scott and Rick hope to limit the number of choices voters have in order to strengthen a few candidates to Trump's level.
Katie, I think that Walker dropping out of the race presents a major turning point in the quest to name a singular Republican candidate. Walker polled very highly over the summer, and has certainly been one of the most well-known names in the GOP field. I think other candidates are bound to follow suit. With three non-political candidates leading the field, career politicans polling between 0 and 3% such as Bobby Jindal, Lindsey Graham, Rand Paul, and Rick Santorum might cut their losses and withdraw from the 2016 race (realclearpolitics). I think that dropping out was the right move for Walker, whose approval rating in his home state of Wisconsin has decreased 37% (Milwaukee Sentinel-Journal). This was a major factor in his dropping out of the race, but so too is his desire for a "true" republican candidate to topple Trump from his top spot in the polls. His job is in hot water at home, and it just wasn't the right time for him to be pursuing the presidency: well over half of Wisconsinites are against his reelection as Senator. The field was water-logged with candidates, and if they want to pose a challenge come next November, they will need to get behind one candidate, and stop prolonging the inevitable cutting loose of some candidates.
Sources:
http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/new-marquette-poll-to-gauge-scott-walkers-approval-rating-b99587522z1-330110101.html
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/us/2016_republican_presidential_nomination-3823.html
As the race becomes more frantic for the Republicans, I think it will become an increasingly "eat or be eaten" affair. The major candidates right now, Carly Fiorina, Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, John Kasich, et all are all aggressively campaigning in battleground states like Iowa. In that state, Carly visited the University of Iowa, Kasich toured the west of the state, Jeb Bush met with individuals, and many visited Davenport to make their mark. Following Scott Walker's rise and fall in Iowa, he either had to fight or lose. However, he was not able to campaign nearly as aggressively as his counterparts, and his polling numbers tanked. In the future, I expect other new candidates at the trailing end of the polling numbers to slowly drop off until there is a dedicated group of a handful of candidates left. The other thing to consider is that although Walker had a small following, it is now the job of the remaining candidates to try and pick up the supporters that he had.
Source http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/after-walkers-exit-gop-field-looks-to-iowa-to-recalibrate-the-race/2015/09/27/9ca64068-6405-11e5-b38e-06883aacba64_story.html
I think that Walker dropping out will encourage others on the lower end of the popularity spectrum to drop out as well. As the article states, he was in the < 1% which wasn’t going to get him anyway fast. His low ratings are due to his debate performance and, according to the article, his failure to make the audience like him and see his position. He failed to stand out against the other Republican candidates that have a larger voice, like Trump for example. I think now the race will turn into more a competition on the Republican side to narrow down the candidates to the top few candidates instead of the current 15 candidates that are running. I think that more will follow his suit because their ranks will drop and they will realize that their race is being lost to other candidates and drop out like Walker did. I think they might decide to drop out once they realize for sure that they don’t have a chance to win the Presidential race or when they make a drastic drop in rankings over a few months, like Walker did.
I don't think Walker dropping out will encourage any other candidates in the bloated GOP field to follow suit. Many hopeless campaigns, whether driven by delusion, sheer belief, or a desire to save face, are dragged on long after their expiration dates. This field isn't proving to be any different thus far. While Walker, ever the politician, spun his failure as a call-to-arms for the GOP field to thin itself and bolster a serious candidate. In reality, Walker probably saw that < 1% poll showing, took into account his ineffectual debating and campaign expenses and decided to cut his losses and call it a race. A little over a year out from the election, the rest of the field is proving indefatigable. I think many are going to drag this out to the point that it becomes impossible to continue. Someone might have to tell Rand Paul that he is literally out of money and cannot continue his campaign. That Bobby Jindal, Rick Santorum, and Lindsey Graham have not dropped out yet, despite all polling at < 3% and missing the A-list GOP debate, is especially foreboding. This field will not thin easily, and it's going to be a long year.
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