Walker win boosts '16 speculation

It's the question that now overwhelms Wisconsin politics. What will Gov. Scott Walker do next?

After taming the public sector unions in 2011, surviving a recall in 2012 and defeating Democrat Mary Burke on Tuesday, Walker has the look of a potential presidential candidate.

Whatever decisions he makes after winning his third election in four years — a Wisconsin three-peat — Walker's moves will reverberate from Madison to Washington and beyond.

At only 47, he's not on a White-House-or-bust trajectory for 2016. But a run will be awfully tempting for a GOP politician with a national profile and an ability to raise campaign cash around the country.

In the coming days and weeks, Walker is likely to get plenty of advice, not just from political consultants who want to latch on to a potential presidential candidate, but from such home-state politicians as Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester.

"If I had been in constant campaign mode for the past two years, I'd take some time to try and relax with my family and spend a little less time on the campaign trail in general," Vos said. "I'd focus on the stuff in Wisconsin. There are a lot of Wisconsin things going on. Holiday with the family.

"I think he takes at least until the snow is thawed to figure out whether he's running or not," Vos added.

Aaron Goldstein of the American Spectator wrote in a rah-rah pre-election story, "If Walker wins on November 4, Republicans should nominate him by acclamation, right then and there, to be their 2016 presidential candidate. The GOP needs a fighter who can step into the ring and dish out as much as he can take, not another man with a glass jaw."

Walker has a more realistic assessment of presidential ambition. In September, he told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "You really have to be crazy to want to be in for that job. Doesn't mean people shouldn't. You better feel you have a calling. Right now, my calling is to be governor of Wisconsin."

Walker has said he has a four-year plan to run the state, which should prove to be an advantage, Vos said. Walker hasn't shared yet how he would balance a projected $1.8 billion shortfall for the next budget or make good on his promise to cut taxes. "He has four years to put his agenda together and put it together at a deliberate pace," Vos said.

State Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, co-chair of the Joint Finance Committee, expects Walker to pursue what she termed a "bold" reform agenda on taxes, schools and jobs. During the campaign, Walker promoted a proposal to institute drug testing for public aid recipients.

"I think bold means to significantly look at what are the incentives and disincentives for growing the economy and developing jobs tied to workforce development and education," she said.

Darling said Walker has the ability to be president but hopes he stays on as governor.

Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette, said local politics will likely figure in Walker's presidential calculus. If Paul Ryan — the congressman from Janesville and 2012 GOP vice presidential nominee — runs, Walker is likely to bypass the race, Nygren said.

Walker said it would be difficult to run for president if Ryan is in the race, since he considers himself the head of the congressman's fan club.

Nygren said: "The things I'm seeing out of Paul Ryan, the development of policies, I think he's positioning himself to run. Taking the governor at his word, if Paul runs, I don't think the governor will."

Still, it does appear that Walker is keeping his options open. In the closing days of the race against Burke, he gave his campaign a national tone, telling audiences that he was the top target of national unions and what he termed Washington-based special interests, who wanted to oust him because of his standoff with public-sector workers.