Walker Exits Race!

JSOnline is reporting:

Walker withdrawing from governor's raceMilwaukee County Executive says he can't match Doyle's fund raising
By DAVE UMHOEFFER

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker is pulling the plug on his bid for the governor’s office, leaving fellow Republican Mark Green a clear shot at incumbent Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle in November.

He planned to make the announcement early this evening during a speech at a Republican Party congressional caucus in Waukesha where Green was also scheduled to appear.

"I give my full support and endorsement to my friend Mark Green," Walker said in a speech prepared for a 5th Congressional District audience at the Country Springs Hotel. He released a copy of his remarks this afternoon to the Journal Sentinel.

Walker, who entered the race officially in January 2005, pinned his withdrawal on a failure to meet ramped-up fundraising goals designed to compete with Doyle’s expected biggest-ever campaign war chest.

"It became clear to me that our fundraising totals would only allow us to run a campaign in a fraction of the 72 counties in this state," Walker said. "In addition, our resources would be so limited that most of it would likely be spent on ads attacking our Republican opponent." He called that an "unappealing option for me" and one that would only bolster Doyle’s re-election hopes.

"In the end I love this state too much to see Jim Doyle elected to another term," Walker said. "A campaign that does not focus on Doyle before the primary will almost certainly insure his re-election. To me, that outcome is unacceptable."

Walker said his campaign fundraising fell short of keeping up with Doyle’s record-setting pace, revealed in the late-January campaign reports. Walker said a new minimum goal he set for the end of March was "unfortunately" not reached.

Walker said he prayed on the decision this week before making it, much as he had before his January 2005 announcement entering the race.

"I believe that it was God’s will for me to run. After a great deal of prayer during the last week, it is clear that it is God’s will for me to step out of the race."

Walker thanked his volunteers, friends and many family members who worked on his campaign. Walker, whose current four-year term as county executive ends in 2008, made no mention of any future political plans.

Green, the congressman from Green Bay, entered the race last year with a fundraising lead over Walker by virtue of a $1.3 million fund transfer from his congressional campaign account. Green, from his base in northeastern Wisconsin, has paved the way for a gubernatorial bid for several years. He demonstrated a broader geographical reach in his fundraising last year than Walker, according to campaign finance records.

Now with Walker stepping aside, Green is free to concentrate on his Democratic opponent, and can better attempt to match Doyle’s stated fundraising goal of $12 million.

Walker noted that he and Green had worked together on truth in sentencing and other issues as state legislators in the 1990s.

The Wauwatosa Republican’s gubernatorial campaign was from the start the subject of constant speculation that it would lack staying power against Green, who had traveled the state for years in anticipation of the 2006 campaign. Walker was also fighting against the widely held perception that a Milwaukee-based candidate could not win the governor’s seat. He tried to counter that by arguing that he would draw new GOP voters out of Milwaukee as a Republican on traditionally Democratic turf. He won the exec’s job in 2002 after a pension scandal forced his processor, F. Thomas Ament, from office.

Fresh off his re-election as county executive in 2004, Walker planned a run for governor.

Starting last winter, he pounded the campaign trail statewide with an anti-tax message and frequent potshots at Doyle over ethics issues, spending and other matters.

Walker nearly matched Green’s fundraising in 2005, giving him a boost, but he said he ultimately concluded that his future fundraising would not be enough.

Some Republican Party insiders have publicly expressed their desire to avoid a contentious and expensive September primary that could have played into Doyle’s hands.

Their fears may have been confirmed in early March when Walker for the first time went directly after Green in radio ads aired statewide, leading to a heated exchange in which Green accused Walker of starting his campaign "by telling a lie." Walker’s ad lumped Green and Doyle together for breaking their promises on holding the line on property taxes. The issue involved the state’s commitment to pay for two-thirds of local public school costs.

In December, after nearly a year of campaigning, Walker acknowledged that Green was better-financed, better-organized statewide and might be winning over more party insiders and officials.

But he vowed in a year-end interview to run as an underdog battling party insiders. He steadfastly declared his intention to stay in the race, saying he was best positioned to take on Doyle.

On Friday, as he bowed out, Walker said: "I thought that I would make one heck of a good governor."