Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) does not expect the “War on Women” to be an effective line of attack against him in his 2014 re-election campaign.
Speaking at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast on Friday, Walker, who signed a controversial bill that requires women seeking an abortion to first get an ultrasound, shot down the idea that he could be vulnerable to accusations that he is pushing socially conservative legislation that rolls back women’s rights. Walker said Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett (D) tried to do that in the 2010 gubernatorial election to little success.
“I talked about that in my book, Tom Barrett tried to do that. He spent a month using the War on Women very ineffectively because voters in our state … I find it insulting that you think that voters just care about one or two issues,” Walker said. “But I find that the women as well as the men I talk to in my state, what they want to know was I going to continue to move forward with reforms that will help get our budget balanced, lower our debts, improve our economy, improve our schools, improve higher education.”
In a number of recent elections, Democrats have attacked Republican opponents on issues like abortion and health care. Virginia Gov.-elect Terry McAuliffe (D) repeatedly hit Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R) on women’s issues in the recent Virginia gubernatorial election.
Walker is expected to face businesswoman Mary Burke (D) in the 2014 Wisconsin gubernatorial direction. A recent Marquette University poll found Burke trailing Walker by just 2 percentage points.
Photo by Michael Bonfigli/The Christian Science Monitor
