Wisconsin governor Scott Walker is nothing if not a campaign veteran. He’s run and won three statewide races since 2010, including the highly contentious recall election in 2012. In fact, since an unsuccessful bid for the state assembly in 1990 when he was just 22, Walker hasn’t lost an election. That’s a great record to have going into a campaign for president, but just a month into his official candidacy, Walker is suffering from a perception that he’s already losing.
Stalling poll numbers and a threat to his top position in Iowa—where Donald Trump has overtaken him in a few polls there—have fed this narrative. In the national polls, Walker has been falling since his peak on April 1. According to the Real Clear Politics average of polls, Walker had a boost in support following his July 13 announcement that he was officially running for president, but since August he’s suffered a precipitous drop in support. Nor did the August 6 debate boost his position. In the latest CNN national poll, Walker is tied for fourth place with Marco Rubio at 8 percent, behind Ben Carson at 9 percent, Jeb Bush at 13 percent, and Donald Trump at 24 percent.
