It was just another day on the road for Scott Walker. A year after his showdown with labor protesters, the Wisconsin governor has become one of the most sought-after figures in the Republican Party, keeping a jet-setting travel schedule more akin to a presidential candidate than a governor trying to survive a recall challenge.

"He's exactly what this country needs in terms of leadership," said banker Bob Emery of Enid, Okla., who was seated at a nearby table, clearly in awe. "The courage he has had ... is what wells up in me. The man is absolutely doing what he believes in."

Walker now regularly huddles with the wealthy and the famous. He attended a Christmas party thrown by Grover Norquist, the conservative power broker, and raised money with Hank Greenberg, founder and former CEO of American International Group, at his Manhattan office.

Last week, he mingled with Oklahoma's corporate elite and top Republicans at a fundraiser co-sponsored by Koch Industries, the oil company led by billionaire brothers who are top backers of conservative causes nationwide. Also in attendance were executives from Devon Energy Corp., which is building a 50-story tower that is changing the Oklahoma City skyline.

As Walker stares down a June 5 recall election, he has used his cachet as a conservative hero to rake in campaign cash never before seen in Wisconsin. And it's put his Democratic challengers at a disadvantage in their effort to make him only the third governor in the nation's history to be ousted in a recall.