A Scott Walker campaign for president in 2016 wouldn't be a huge surprise — the Wisconsin governor has astounded observers with his finesse at winning elections in the face of troubling adversity.
Since the Republican was first elected governor in 2010, he has overcome one recall election and triumphed in a re-election, making him a potential GOP presidential candidate in 2016.
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Albert Hunt, in a column for Bloomberg, says Walker is sometimes viewed as lacking charisma, but he has proven he can prevail over daunting odds with his ability to raise money for his victory during the recall election.
"The Wisconsin governor is one of the few early hopefuls acceptable to both the establishment and business-friendly elements of the party and to movement conservatives, who are attracted by his successful efforts against labor unions in a Democratic-leaning state," Hunt wrote. Walker’s successful re-election campaign in 2014 strengthens this view.
Jay Miller wrote in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he is a Republican who voted for Walker, but would not vote for him if he ran for president. Aside from lacking foreign policy experience, Walker also lacks a college degree and hasn’t explained why he didn’t finish college, Miller noted.
"No president since Harry Truman has lacked a college degree and regardless of Truman’s accomplishments, that was a different era, "Miller wrote. "Back then a college degree was distinctive. Now it is a prerequisite in most people’s minds."
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Chris Cillizza of The Washington Post writes that Walker is among those in a crowded GOP establishment field to oppose tea party candidates such as Rand Paul and Ted Cruz.
Before the 2014 election, Cillizza opined that Walker still had "to win re-election against a well-financed Democrat" to prove his worth as a strong GOP candidate in a 2016 presidential campaign. His re-election victory could now help him stand out within the Republican establishment.
Ana Marie Cox of the Daily Beast called Walker "bland-faced" and described him as "not a good candidate, he is a good-enough candidate."
Following Walker’s re-election, he could have focused on his qualities for a future in national politics, "but instead Walker delivered essentially the same stump speech he’s given going on two years now — it’s long on Washington vs. Wisconsin rhetoric, but short on policy specifics," Cox wrote.
John Podhoretz, in a New York Post column, wrote that what Walker might lack in personality is countered by his results as a candidate and governor. Walker has won three elections — including the recall — in four years in a state that voted for President Barack Obama. His economic reforms may have saved Wisconsin taxpayers $3 billion.
Although he is "colorless and unexciting to watch," events leading up to the 2016 presidential campaign could determine "whether Walker is best admired from afar, or whether he’s going to take the national GOP by storm," Podhoretz wrote.
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