Gov. Scott Walker warns his GOP base that he may start out behind in the general election

https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2018/08/13/scott-walker-warns-gop-base-he-may-start-out-behind-general-election/979795002/

WISCONSIN RAPIDS – GOP Gov. Scott Walker is warning supporters that he may be trailing at the outset of the general election campaign, no matter who wins Tuesday’s Democratic primary.

“You could have Daffy Duck on the ballot for the Democrats, and they’ll start out with at least 48% of the vote,” Walker said at a campaign stop in central Wisconsin on Saturday.

That joke was a stark commentary on how divided the governor believes this state is, and on the challenges he thinks he faces winning a third term.

Walker has spent months working to fire up his political base, calling this his toughest race ever, warning of a possible “blue wave” this fall.

In recent days, he has told partisan crowds that whoever wins Tuesday’s eight-way Democratic primary for governor may well begin the general election campaign ahead of Walker.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if, after the primary, we were down,” Walker said in an interview. “Any time somebody wins, particularly a highly visible primary, they are likely to get a bump.”

Walker trailed his best-known Democratic opponent, state school superintendent Tony Evers, in two public polls last month. GOP strategists questioned those results, but the governor now seems to be bracing his supporters for the first batch of post-primary surveys.

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“I see … a hyper-enthusiasm on the other side, largely by the far, far left. You get people who don’t just want to win, they want to decimate me,” said Walker in the interview. “They’ll walk through fire to get out and vote.”


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When supporters on the campaign trail hear Walker call this the “race of our lifetime” or “the toughest election I’ve ever been involved in” or “even tougher than the recall,” some are surprised, because they are so used to him winning and they remember the ferocity of the recall fight.


But others say they share the governor’s concern.

“I’ve never come out to something like this before. That’s how important I think it is,” said Katie Edwards, a retired nurse from Black River Falls who went to see Walker at the Clark County Fair in Neillsville.

“They’re motivated because of anger,” Matt Anthony, who came to see Walker in Wisconsin Rapids, said of Democrats.

“This is going to be (his) toughest race,” said Anthony.