Scott Walker photo

Remarks in Madison, Wisconsin Announcing the End of Presidential Campaign Activities

September 21, 2015

As a kid, I was drawn to Ronald Reagan because he was a Republican and a conservative.

But most of all, I admired him because of his eternal optimism for the American people.

That thought came into my head when we were all standing on the stage at the Reagan Library last Wednesday. Ronald Reagan was good for America because he was an optimist.

Sadly, the debate taking place in the Republican Party today is not focused on that optimistic view of America.

Instead it has drifted into personal attacks. In the end, I believe the voters want to be for something, and not against someone. Instead of talking about how bad things are, we want to hear how we can make them better for everyone.

We need to get back to the basics of our party.

We are a party that believes that people create jobs, not the government. And the best way to grow the economy is to get the government out of the way and build it from the ground up.

We are a party that believes that the way to measure success in government is by how many people are no longer dependent on the government, because we ultimately believe in the dignity of work. We are the party that believes that a strong military leads to peace through strength, and that that will protect our children and future generations. That good will ultimately triumph over evil. We are a party that believes in the American people, not the federal government. These ideas will help us win the election next fall, and more importantly these ideas will make our country great again.

To refocus the debate on these types of issues will require leadership. While I was sitting in church yesterday the pastor's words reminded me that the Bible is full of stories about people who are called to be leaders in unusual ways. Today I believe that I'm being called to lead by helping to clear the field in this race so that a positive conservative message can rise to the top of the field. With this in mind, I will suspend my campaign immediately.

I encourage other republican presidential candidates to consider doing the same, so that the voters can focus on a limited number of candidates who can offer a positive conservative alternative to the current front runner. This is fundamentally important to the future of the party, and more importantly to the future of our country.

This is a difficult decision as so many wonderful people stepped up to support our campaign. Tonette and I are very thankful for the many outstanding volunteers and the excellent staff who have helped us throughout the campaign. You all have been like family to us. Speaking of family, I want to personally thank my wife Tonette who has been a rock, as well as our two amazing sons, Matt and Alex. I thank my parents and my brother David and his family, and all of our other family and friends for the love and support. Most of all I want to thank God, I want to thank God for His abundant grace. Win or lose it has always been more than enough.

Thank you.

Scott Walker, Remarks in Madison, Wisconsin Announcing the End of Presidential Campaign Activities Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/310424

Simple Search of Our Archives