News

Actions

WI gov. Scott Walker dropping out of GOP race

Posted

After a dramatic fall from the top tier of Republican presidential candidates over the last several weeks, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is expected to end his bid for the White House, two sources told ABC News.

Walker is set to announce his decision at a press conference in Madison, Wisconsin at 6 p.m. Eastern tonight.

The move comes just two months after polls showed Walker leading frontrunner Donald Trump in the crucial, first-in-the-nation caucus state of Iowa. Many pundits considered Walker to be a favorite for GOP nomination after his successful recall election in Wisconsin in 2012 and his establishment support.

But over the last several weeks, Walker has fallen dramatically in national polls, registering at less than 0.5 percent in the latest national CNN/ORC poll this weekend. In Iowa, Walker slid from 19 percent to 5 percent in just six weeks of NBC News/Marist polling.

The Wisconsin governor had canceled recent events in Michigan and California in an effort to focus on campaign events in early primary states. His run started on July 13 and lasted 70 days.

Walker, never having graduated college, pitched himself as an outsider to Washington and argued that the next president needed to be a governor.

Walker spoke with ABC's Jon Karl last November about the ideal presidential candidate on ABC's "This Week."

"I think it's got to be an outsider. I think both the presidential and vice presidential nominees should either be a former or current governor, people who’ve done successful things in their states, who’ve taken on big reforms and are ready to move America forward," he said at the time. "So, that rules out Marco Rubio, that rules out Ted Cruz and rules out Rand Paul. All good guys, but it’s got to be somebody who’s viewed as being exceptionally removed from Washington.”

Walker's Super PAC raised more than $20 million during the second quarter of fundraising, the fourth highest Republican fundraiser to that point.

He was the 15th Republican candidate to join the 2016 race.

Walker's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.