The April 5 Wisconsin primary is next up on the Republican presidential calendar, and the biggest endorsement in that contest would be Gov. Scott Walker. The governor hasn’t announced an endorsement yet, but Wednesday morning on conservative radio host Charlie Sykes’ program, Walker made clear that he will endorse Ted Cruz, and soon.
“We’re probably going to make a decision this week,” Walker said. “I think it’s probably best in the next couple of days to do something after Easter, where it would have the maximum impact, and, unlike my friend Gary Herbert in Utah the other day, I’m not going to wait until the day before. But probably in the next week or so we’ll one, make a decision whether we’re going to endorse or not, and secondly, then specifically, obviously decide who we’re going to get behind. But I think it’s fair to say that my views, my beliefs, my strategy overall would probably be more aligned with Sen. Ted Cruz or Gov. John Kasich.”
Although he called Kasich a friend, and said he was happy to see Kasich win Ohio, Walker left no doubt that he’ll leave Kasich behind. “If you’re someone who is uneasy with the front-runner, right now there’s really only one candidate,” Walker told Sykes. “I think if you’re just looking at the numbers objectively, Sen. Cruz is the only one who’s got a chance, other than Donald Trump, to win the nomination. Statistically, my friend Gov. Kasich cannot.”
Walker, who when he quit the race last September urged his fellow candidates to get out of the way so Trump might be defeated, said he has spoken to each of the GOP candidates, “other than Trump.”
Walker said he does not have a problem with an open convention. He noted that Abraham Lincoln emerged the nominee from an open convention in 1860. Lincoln was not the front-runner at the time, Walker said, “and that gives us hope.”
So Walker 1) strongly suggested he will endorse; 2) said Cruz is the only non-Trump candidate with a chance. At the end of the interview, Sykes noted everything Walker had said and concluded that it’s not hard to figure out what Walker will do. “You connect the dots,” Sykes said.
