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Scott Walker's Strategy: Let Jeb Bush Get Ahead First
Tuesday, April 28, 2015 02:50 PM
By: Courtney Coren
Part of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's strategy to win the Republican nomination for president is to let former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush get his campaign off the ground and peak early as he readies his own campaign for the long haul.
The long-term goal is that this tactic will help Walker ultimately beat Bush in the Republican primary and not fade out early like former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty did in 2012, The New York Times reported.
According to Walker's advisers, the strategy is also partly an admission that Walker has a lot of work yet to do in terms of raising money and increasing his readiness and stature in the Republican Party.
The Wisconsin governor reportedly doesn't expect to raise as much money as Bush. More importantly, he's learned that his apparent lack of depth on issues could put an end to any hope he may have of making a strong showing, and ultimately being successful, among the crowded Republican field, his advisers told the Times.
Walker has enlisted the help of about 50 fundraising bundlers across 30 states, while courting megadonors such as David and Charles Koch and Todd Ricketts, who has said that he plans to support Walker, if he runs.
The Times notes that Walker's strategy is to lower expectations before fundraising totals are revealed in July as well as preparing for how he will fare competing against Bush, who is not only more comfortable talking about a variety of issues but is also reportedly winning the GOP 2016 fundraising game, with Bush's political organization saying it expects to have $100 million in the bank by July.
By comparison, Walker's team expects the Wisconsin governor to have $25 million in the same time period. Our American Revival, Walker's pre-campaign organization, has raised $5 million so far.
However, Jonathan Burkan, a Walker fundraiser and financial adviser from New York, says that while "it's clear Bush has the most bundlers today . . . it's only April. And Walker has enough [bundlers] to do what he needs to do to win the nomination."
According to the Times, Walker's main priority is making sure he has the money to counter attack ads from Bush supporters.
Walker's advisers said that the Wisconsin governor believes that while Bush may have the most money that, ultimately, former Florida governor will fail to connect with voters, especially grass-roots conservatives — where Walker is very comfortable and well-liked.
The Wisconsin Republican reportedly enjoys fundraising and was successful garnering $30 million and a large list of donors during his recall election in 2012. However, about 140,000 of the 300,000 donor corps that donated in 2012 didn't contribute in 2014.
However, Walker's advisers say that most of that 140,000 are supporting Walker's expected presidential bid.
The Wisconsin governor's fundraising abilities will ultimately be revealed come July.
