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Scott Walker should be the Republicans’ choice in the run for Governor
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During the last election cycle, Wisconsin Republican party bigwigs decided to back a weak gubernatorial candidate, Congressman Mark Green, over Scott Walker. Walker, realizing that a costly primary race would deplete his campaign war chest, leaving little for the statewide gubernatorial race, stepped aside. 
It’s not unusual for Republicans to select candidates for no other reason than “it’s their turn.” They ran Bob Dole against Clinton for that reason. So I suspect that Wisconsin Republican Party leaders backed Green with the same thinking, threatening to withhold funding for Walker’s primary run if he stayed in the race. The end result was that Green became the Republican candidate and ran an anemic campaign, never addressing early Democrat attacks. Green began his run late and remained on the defensive right up to the election. It could be that Green was also lacking in funds, and that may have been the reason for his slow start; as he was trying to hold money in reserve for a late surge. But the surge never materialized, and Democrat Jim Doyle was elected by a hefty margin.
This gubernatorial cycle poses a similar challenge. Scott Walker is the early Republican frontrunner. He has a record of holding the line on costs and property taxes and is easily the strongest choice to run against Doyle. He has also held his seat at Milwaukee County Executive in a region where voting for Democtrats and Socialists is commonplace. Walker has the experience and the personality to give Doyle or any other Democrat a run for his money.
However former U.S. Congressman Mark Neumann is considering a challenge to Walker in the Republican primary. Previously Neumann ran well against U. S. Senator Russ Feingold in a hard-fought Senate Race, losing by the narrowest of margins. Now Neumann is eyeing the Governorship. My fear is that history will repeat itself if Neumann challenges Walker in the primary.
Russ Feingold carries more than enough baggage to be defeated. He is almost as beatable as Herb Kohl would have been had the Wisconsin Republicans not made a terrible choice for a candidate who conducted a criminally poor campaign in the last Senate cycle. Russ Darrow, who lost in the Republican primary, had plenty of money and name recognition in the densely populated southeastern counties. I believe he would have beaten Kohl, but the GOP once again shot themselves in the foot by not backing him.
In this cycle, Neumann should go after Feingold’s Senate seat once more and let the gubernatorial frontrunner, Scott Walker, hold onto his campaign funds which are at risk of again being depleted in a hard-fought primary race. Doyle has more money than God when it comes to campaign financing and all of Walker’s funds will be sorely needed if he is to win the Governor’s mansion.
In addition, Wisconsin Republicans should pull out all the stops and spend as much money as necessary to grab Feingold’s Senate seat. Neumann is the perfect choice to try to unseat him. With Neumann in the Senate and Walker as Governor, that would be the best of both worlds.
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