After all the buildup, will Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker opt out of the Republican race for president? Don’t bet on it.
That was Walker’s message last night in an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, fresh off the launch yesterday of a new website and well-received appearances over the weekend at two key gatherings of conservatives.
“I’m interested,” Walker said with a nod at the opening of his appearance on “Hannity.” He went on to pitch “a pro-growth agenda” and tout his latest round of tax cuts in Wisconsin.
Walker, who withstood a recall to win three elections in four years, replied to Hannity’s question on the odds he’ll announce his candidacy for president by saying: “I wouldn’t be betting against me.”
Our American Revival is the name of the website and fundraising committee through which Walker will explore a decision to run for the White House by midsummer, he said.
“We have to have a name from the future, not from the past,” @GovWalker says.
“We need new, bold leadership from outside of Washington that is proven to take on the challenges we face in this country right now,” Walker told Hannity, adding: “If we’re going to take Hillary Clinton on, we’ve got to have a name from the future, not one from the past.”
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Walker appeared to aim those remarks not only at Clinton, the Democratic favorite, but at Republican rivals such as three long-out-of-office governors — Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, Jeb Bush of Florida and Mike Huckabee of Arkansas.
If cheers are any guide, Walker, emphatically pacing the stage in shirtsleeves, made one of the stronger impressions Saturday at the Iowa Freedom Summit. He and other potential GOP candidates courted social conservatives at the event in Des Moines.
The Wisconsin governor next traveled to Palm Springs, Calif., for a private appearance Sunday before Freedom Partners, a network of wealthy conservative donors organized by activist businessmen Charles and David Koch.
