Wisconsin's Republican Gov. Scott Walker is dreaming big for 2016, but first, he's got a big fight on his hands for his more immediate political future.
Walker, 46, is locked in a nail-biter against his Democrat opponent, Mary Burke, in a race for his second term that polls are calling a dead heat and much too close to call,
the Washington Post reports.
Real Clear Politics rates Walker as having a slim 0.4 percent average lead over Burke, 55, and has him ranked ninth in contention for the
Republican presidential nomination, with an average 4.4 percent chance of taking it.
A new
Marquette Law School poll finds that the five percent edge Walker enjoyed over Burke in September, at 50-45, has disappeared as the election draws closer, and the candidates are now running neck-and-neck at 47 percent apiece, although Walker still enjoys a three percent lead among registered voters.
Walker is well aware of the tightness of the race. At a football party, he recently told supporters, “I need you to reach out to people you have never talked to about politics before — that’s how close this election is," the Post reports.
It's not the first time Walker has encountered election trouble. In 2012, Walker won a recall election launched over anger at his budget proposal which limited collective bargaining rights for public union workers. Strong support from Tea Party members, independents and Republicans pulled him through,
CBS reports.
Burke, a former Trek bicycle executive and state secretary of commerce, has hammered Walker over a campaign promise to create 250,000 new jobs in Wisconsin, which Walker missed fulfilling by close to 150,000 jobs, the Post reports. However, Walker has struck back with news that 8,400 new jobs were added in September under his administration's leadership.
Burke, the Post reports, said, “People don’t feel like their lives have recovered from the recession. They’re concerned that they are not making enough to get by."
Burke plans to draw support from a planned visit from President Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton who will stump for her in Wisconsin, while New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Iowa's Republican Gov. Terry Branstad have offered to appear for Walker, the Post notes.
However, Walker commented, "Don’t take this wrong, but because I’m not a challenger, I don’t really need surrogates. My problem isn’t name ID or drawing crowds. I need to simply get out there and talk to voters.
"By and large, this is about me."