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| Scott Walker enters Republican race for president with tweet: 'I'm in' | Scott Walker enters Republican race for president with tweet: 'I'm in' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, one of the favourites to win the Republican nomination in the US presidential election, formally announced his candidacy on Monday via social media, tweeting: “I’m in.” | Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, one of the favourites to win the Republican nomination in the US presidential election, formally announced his candidacy on Monday via social media, tweeting: “I’m in.” |
| Walker is a late entry in a crowded field of 15 Republican candidates, but his record on rightwing issues during his five years in the governor’s office means he is already polling strongly with the party base. In 2011, Walker succeeded in stripping collective bargaining rights from state employees, in a policy battle that drew thousands of protesters to the Wisconsin statehouse and established the governor as a conservative star. | |
| Related: Scott Walker's track record makes him a strong contender in Republican race | Related: Scott Walker's track record makes him a strong contender in Republican race |
| The following year, Walker defeated an attempt to unseat him in a recall election, becoming the first US governor ever to have done so. | The following year, Walker defeated an attempt to unseat him in a recall election, becoming the first US governor ever to have done so. |
| Those battles have made Walker a villain on the left, but attracted the loyal support of top conservative donors such as the oil refining magnates David and Charles Koch, who signaled in April that Walker was a preferred candidate. | Those battles have made Walker a villain on the left, but attracted the loyal support of top conservative donors such as the oil refining magnates David and Charles Koch, who signaled in April that Walker was a preferred candidate. |
| Support for an abortion ban after 20 weeks of pregnancy and staunch backing for more liberal gun laws, meanwhile, have driven strong polling by Walker in the early voting state of Iowa, where survey averages have for months had him in first place in the Republican field. He currently shows 19 points support to 10 points for runner-up Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor. | Support for an abortion ban after 20 weeks of pregnancy and staunch backing for more liberal gun laws, meanwhile, have driven strong polling by Walker in the early voting state of Iowa, where survey averages have for months had him in first place in the Republican field. He currently shows 19 points support to 10 points for runner-up Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor. |
| Walker will run on a promise much like that of his opponents: lower taxes for businesses and workers, a hard line on immigration and a more muscular foreign policy. But he stands out for his ideological consistency and for the number of bills he has signed as governor, turning conservative talking points into the law of the land. | |
| He also appears ready to remind voters at every turn about the fight he waged against the Wisconsin unions, whom he derided in a campaign memoir called Unintimidated. Walker released a campaign video Monday that boasted of an unwillingness to “compromise our principles” and a taste for confrontation. | |
| I'm in. I'm running for president because Americans deserve a leader who will fight and win for them. - SW http://t.co/DZG253QjfP #Walker16 | I'm in. I'm running for president because Americans deserve a leader who will fight and win for them. - SW http://t.co/DZG253QjfP #Walker16 |
| I'm running for President of the United States to fight and win for the American people. -SW #Walker16 http://t.co/bBnRMAurmh | I'm running for President of the United States to fight and win for the American people. -SW #Walker16 http://t.co/bBnRMAurmh |
| “I’m running for president to fight and win for the American people,” Walker says in the video. | “I’m running for president to fight and win for the American people,” Walker says in the video. |
| “America needs new fresh leadership with big, bold ideas from outside of Washington, to actually get things done. In Wisconsin, we didn’t live around the edges, we enacted big, bold reforms and took power out of the hands of big government and special interests ... We fought and we won.” | “America needs new fresh leadership with big, bold ideas from outside of Washington, to actually get things done. In Wisconsin, we didn’t live around the edges, we enacted big, bold reforms and took power out of the hands of big government and special interests ... We fought and we won.” |
| He said of his Republican opponents: “There are some who are good fighters, but they haven’t won those battles. There are others who have won elections, but haven’t consistently taken on the big fights.” | He said of his Republican opponents: “There are some who are good fighters, but they haven’t won those battles. There are others who have won elections, but haven’t consistently taken on the big fights.” |
| To unveil his campaign, the governor planned a large rally in his home state Monday evening to be followed by a road trip to Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. | To unveil his campaign, the governor planned a large rally in his home state Monday evening to be followed by a road trip to Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. |
| The perceived threat on the Democratic side from Walker’s candidacy was plain for the immediate attack it drew from Hillary Clinton, the former first lady and secretary of state and current Democratic presidential candidate, during a speech on Monday morning in Manhattan. | The perceived threat on the Democratic side from Walker’s candidacy was plain for the immediate attack it drew from Hillary Clinton, the former first lady and secretary of state and current Democratic presidential candidate, during a speech on Monday morning in Manhattan. |
| “Republican governors like Scott Walker have made their names stomping on workers’ rights, and practically all the Republican candidates hope to do the same as president,” Clinton said. “I will fight back against these mean-spirited, misguided attacks.” | “Republican governors like Scott Walker have made their names stomping on workers’ rights, and practically all the Republican candidates hope to do the same as president,” Clinton said. “I will fight back against these mean-spirited, misguided attacks.” |
| The largest federation of unions in the United States, the American federation of labor and congress of industrial organizations (AFL-CIO), issued a terse statement Monday on Walker’s presidential ambitions. | The largest federation of unions in the United States, the American federation of labor and congress of industrial organizations (AFL-CIO), issued a terse statement Monday on Walker’s presidential ambitions. |
| “Scott Walker is a national disgrace,” read in the statement, in full. | “Scott Walker is a national disgrace,” read in the statement, in full. |
| Related: Scott Walker's résumé: survivor par excellence loves a good union bust-up | Related: Scott Walker's résumé: survivor par excellence loves a good union bust-up |
| Conservative defenders of Walker’s record point to a $137m budget shortfall he successfully closed upon taking office in 2011. He has had difficulty balancing the budget in his nearly five years as governor, however, owing to large tax cuts he has signed, including one estimated to reduce state revenues by by $2.3bn over 10 years. | Conservative defenders of Walker’s record point to a $137m budget shortfall he successfully closed upon taking office in 2011. He has had difficulty balancing the budget in his nearly five years as governor, however, owing to large tax cuts he has signed, including one estimated to reduce state revenues by by $2.3bn over 10 years. |
| The majority of those cuts went to businesses of all sizes, but $366m went exclusively to multi-state corporations, while other measures, such as capital gains relief ($436m), were pitched narrowly to the wealthy. | The majority of those cuts went to businesses of all sizes, but $366m went exclusively to multi-state corporations, while other measures, such as capital gains relief ($436m), were pitched narrowly to the wealthy. |
| Opponents of Walker in his home state say that his brand of fiscally pure conservatism has had devastating human costs. In the three years after state employees in Wisconsin lost their collective bargaining rights, their median salary of $40,000 was estimated to fall by 8-10%. Walker has also supported mandatory drug screening for welfare recipients, curtailed paid leave and ejected tens of thousands of low-income citizens from health care roles with a refusal to accept provisions of Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law. | Opponents of Walker in his home state say that his brand of fiscally pure conservatism has had devastating human costs. In the three years after state employees in Wisconsin lost their collective bargaining rights, their median salary of $40,000 was estimated to fall by 8-10%. Walker has also supported mandatory drug screening for welfare recipients, curtailed paid leave and ejected tens of thousands of low-income citizens from health care roles with a refusal to accept provisions of Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law. |