MADISON, Wis. (AP) – It’s been a rough four weeks for Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.
In late May, a poll showed him tied with his largely unknown Democratic challenger for re-election. Two weeks ago, a federal judge overturned the state’s ban on same-sex marriage that Walker had loudly supported. And on Friday, he had to defend himself against newly released court documents in which prosecutors put him at the center of a nationwide scheme to evade campaign-finance rules and collaborate illegally with conservative groups, although no charges have been filed.
And that’s not all. A federal report released Thursday showed Wisconsin ranked 37th nationally in new-job creation last year, putting a chink in Walker’s main argument for another term – that he’s improved the state’s economy.
But if anyone knows how to survive a political setback, it’s Walker.
After all, he is the only governor in U.S. history to win a recall election. The 2012 effort to remove him was launched in reaction to the law passed the previous year that effectively ended collective bargaining for most public workers, a fight that drew tens of thousands of protesters to the Capitol and made Wisconsin the center of a national battle over union rights.