Walker Campaign in Free Fall?

[Gass3268]

National polling and more importantly Iowa polling has taken a real nasty turn recently for the Wisconsin Governor. Can he even be considered a legitimate frontrunner anymore? Is this the beginning of the end or just a bump in the road?

[DavidB.]

I don't think he's one of the frontrunners at the moment, but there's still much time for him, even though I'm not as optimistic about his chances as I was.

[Landslide Lyndon]

Unless he undergoes a personality transplant I don't see how he can become the Republican nominee.

[136or142]

Nationally, it's just this latest 'morning consult' poll that has him down so low.

[tmthforu94]

I think his numbers will fall everywhere but Iowa, where he will put all of his resources into. I think he has to win Iowa though to win the nomination.

[okierepublican]

Tim pawlenty 2.0

[Bigby]

Sadly he's just another Pawlenty. Oh well, I was hoping that he would prove everyone wrong on that.

[Crumpets]

Beginning of the end. Not that he'll drop out any time soon, and he may still win Iowa, but his performance squandering his high position in the polls has shown he hasn't got what it takes.

[eric82oslo]

Unless he undergoes a personality transplant I don't see how he can become the Republican nominee.

Even that wouldn't be enough though, as most of his policy positions are horrid for at least 80-90% of the US population.

[Torie]

I feel for Walker. He just has a ponderous mind that weighs him down. He's in a Peter Principle mode here. Sad.

[Dwarven Dragon]

Just a bump in the road. Trump should lose his lead in IA at some point over the next few months, and he's going to cede it to Walker, not anyone else.

(No, he's not going to cede it to Carson. That idea will only ever be present in Atlas Timelines and Terrifying Nightmares.)

[Simfan34]

It's just one poll, guys. Let's wait and see.

[HillOfANight]

Sadly, yes. I think he would have been so easy for Hillary. No Hispanic appeal like Rubio/Bush, thinks forced ultrasounds are cool, equated unions with ISIS. He just spewed talking points during the debate and the GOP voters are seeing he's just an airhead.

[Fuzzy Bear]

Walker is an example of a guy who has sold out.  He's got the look and feel of somebody's "Management Trainee" who turned out not to be ready for prime time.

[Mister Mets]

It's most likely the beginning of the end. Part of it is that this is a race where no one has a more than 50 percent chance of being the nominee. Walker, like everyone else, is more likely to lose.

His weak debate performance highlighted his flaws (Agrees with Akin and Mourdock on rape and abortion, Not a tremendous political talent) and his difficulties standing out in a crowd where the ones who fail the Top 10 are often impressive.

[Likely Voter]

Watching him today in IA you can see that his team knows there is a problem and they are trying to pivot. He appears ready to get off the fence straddling between mainstream and outsider. He is now going out of his way to attack the "Washington Machine" and specifically attacking GOP leaders in Congress including Mitch McConnell. He is also tacking right taking on Trump's position on immigration and the farthest right position on abortion.  He will likely go on the attack in the next debate. Doesn't matter who the target is, he just wants to show aggression.   

[King]

He's still the establishment's best chance of unseating Trump in Iowa. That's worth something.

[#TheShadowyAbyss]

I voted beginning of the end because I have noticed his poll numbers slipping right before debate and now it's in a freefall basically. I'm not surprised though, he is tacking hard right on most issues, his horrible record as governor of Wisconsin is starting to come out and the media should stop labeling him as a "frontrunner" because he is not, they should also do the same for Rubio as well. But I digress

[bedstuy]

He still needs to win Iowa.  That's the plan.  Where was Santorum at this point in the 2012 race?  Where was Huckabee at this point in the 2008 race?  Remember, it's about peaking at the right time.

[Famous Mortimer]

He's lost his lead in Iowa. He's not even second anymore. That was all he had going. Yeah, he's done. Kasich probably has a better chance of being the nominee than he does.

[MyRescueKittehRocks]

He's still the establishment's best chance of unseating Trump in Iowa. That's worth something.

Walker isn't establishment. He's Tea Party.

[#TheShadowyAbyss]

He's still the establishment's best chance of unseating Trump in Iowa. That's worth something.

Walker isn't establishment. He's Tea Party.

This.

[Famous Mortimer]

Being Tea Party and being establishment aren't mutually exclusive.

Regardless, I would very much dispute that Walker is anyone's best chance at beating up Trump in Iowa. He's getting beaten by Ben Carson for God's sake.

[eric82oslo]

He's still the establishment's best chance of unseating Trump in Iowa. That's worth something.

Except for perhaps on immigration, I think Walker could do much more damage to the establishment and the US more broadly, than Trump could. And even on immigration, their policy positions are almost identical, although I'm not sure whether Walker also would deport 11 million immigrants?

[Wrong about 2024 Ghost]

Walker can't fall out of the race yet,  he hasn't even started chewing on his own ankle. All he's done is be a bland nobody. As someone who expected far, far worse from him, I'm very very disappointed.