Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker signed a bill pledging $250 million in taxpayer money during the next 20 years toward a new arena for the Milwaukee Bucks, Wisconsin’s NBA franchise. The total commitment for the stadium will reach $400 million with interest, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. The Bucks are a struggling team that finished 41-41 last season before losing to the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the playoffs.
“This wasn’t Republican or Democrat,” Walker said on Wednesday. “This was a good example where people came together, not only across party lines but from all over the state of Wisconsin.”
Walker’s support for using public funding to construct a stadium for a private sports team has rankled fiscal conservatives. Some Wisconsin Republicans have been worried that the plan could cause a backlash similar to what the state GOP faced after a state senator broke a promise about the burden his constituents’ would face en route to a new stadium for the Milwaukee Brewers, Wisconsin’s professional baseball team.
The plan endorsed by the governor to finance the stadium was titled, “Cheaper to keep them,” but it could cost Walker conservative support on the campaign trail.
Walker has seen his poll numbers slip since appearing in the first nationally televised GOP presidential debate last week. A new CNN/ORC survey showed retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson surpassing him in Iowa — bumping Walker to third place in the Hawkeye State — and an NBC/SurveyMonkey poll showed the governor’s poll numbers dropped 3 percentage points nationwide after the debate. Walker has adopted a new strategy on the stump that he debuted on the debate stage — attacking Hillary Clinton. And he has said that next week he will unveil his plan to repeal and replace Obamacare.
Walker has largely sought to avoid attacking GOP front-runner Donald Trump, but showed signs of frustration on Thursday. He complained about Trump sucking the oxygen out of the room for other presidential candidates on 620 WTMJ radio.
“It’s just one of those — where there’s a lot of important issues out there — but more than often not, around the country that’s most of what we get asked about,” he said. “For us it’s steady, steady as you go.”
