Gov. Scott Walker touted his record against special interests in a speech at the Iowa Freedom Summit Saturday that framed the Wisconsin Republican as a potential frontrunner for the 2016 election.
He promised the Des Moines audience he is “going to come back many times in the future,” stoking suspicions that he will soon launch a bid for the White House.
Ditching a suit coat for casual rolled-up sleeves, Walker paced across the stage as he ticked through his accomplishments as the two-term governor of a blue state.
“In Washington, they keep trying to find ways to take more of your money. In Wisconsin, we’re trying to find ways to give more of the money back to the people who earned it,” Walker said, highlighting the tax cuts he brought to his state and suggesting he could do the same for the rest of the country.
“Our property taxes are lower today than they were four years ago,” he said. “How many governors can say that?”
Among the political victories Walker cited was the passage of pro-life state legislation, an issue that likely resonated with the audience of conservative activists given lawmakers’ ultimately unsuccessful attempt to pass a late-term abortion ban in the House this week.
Walker recounted the personal upheaval he experienced when the Occupy Wall Street movement swept through Wisconsin during his first term.
He said Occupy protesters gathered outside his family’s home and threatened his wife and children.
“Someone sent me a threat that said they were going to gut my wife like a deer,” Walker said. “All they did was remind me how important it was to stand up for the people of my state.”
Taking a subtle swipe at the president’s reluctance to engage extremists abroad, Walker pushed for a stronger national position on defense.
“We need leaders who will stand with our allies against radical Islamic terrorists,” he said, drawing one of the loudest waves of applause of the speech.
The Wisconsin governor was one of several potential White House contenders to take the stage at the Iowa summit Saturday as dozens of Republican politicians laid out visions for the new GOP-controlled Congress and the upcoming presidential race.
