After leading in Iowa throughout the spring and early summer, Republican presidential candidate Scott Walker has slipped toward the bottom half of the pack of contenders in the latest major polls. So not only is one of his Super PACs pouring millions into TV ads in the caucus state, but the Wisconsin governor himself is pouring more energy and time into his Iowa campaign.
In a one-on-one interview with the Torch over the weekend, Walker explained why the change in strategy and why he believes Iowans will naturally warm up to him.
“I just think there’s a natural connection, not just because we are neighbors, but people, particularly in eastern and central Iowa, know probably know more than most people in the country what we did,” said Walker. “They saw the push back, they saw the hundred thousand protesters, and so there’s something to be build out of that.”
Walker also reiterated the fact that he has a Midwestern background, and Iowans are looking for someone they can identify with in the vast field of candidates.
“It’s really about shared values,” said Walker. “It’s about hard work and determination. My dad was a small-town preacher, my mom was a part-time secretary. I didn’t inherit fame or fortune. I was taught that hard work and dedication can get you anything in this country, and I think Iowans can identify with that.”
The Wisconsin governor announced last week that he has a supporter in each of the state’s 99 counties, and he has been an advocate from the beginning of his July announcement that he will campaign to each of those counties. Walker is also pushing out more policy papers from his campaign to keep up with the demand set by other candidates.
“We’ve got some foreign policy, we talked about Obamacare, and we’re going to lay out some specifics about what we would do early on, some of the exact things we would take action on in the administration,” said Walker. “And then we’ll be talking in the next month about tax policy, regulatory policy, what we would do to help grow the economy.”
Though Walker is not scheduled to be back in Iowa until later next month, his campaign team is adamant that more resources and visits will be put into the first-in-the-nation caucus state.
