Jason Stein

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

MADISON - Marshaling the donors who have brought him more campaign cash than any other Wisconsin politician, Gov. Scott Walker told them in a private call Thursday that he's "ready" for a 2018 run.

In the call with several dozen top donors and fundraisers — the first in a series — the GOP governor stopped short of committing to running for a third term, according to sources who were on the line. But Walker gave his strongest signal yet that he wants to run and wants to have the financial commitments needed to carry out a campaign expected to run into the tens of millions of dollars on both sides.

“I’m ready," sources said Walker told donors. “I’m as excited as I’ve ever been about Wisconsin’s future.”

The governor made the call a day after former state Sen. Tim Cullen ruled out a run for governor, leaving Democrats still casting about for a challenger to Walker. Democrats have a number of potential candidates in 2018, but so far no one with a record of accomplishment in politics or business has announced a run.

Brandon Weathersby, a spokesman for the state Democratic Party, said that the call is a sign that Walker is "intimidated by the prospect of losing his taxpayer-funded salary.

"Of course he's calling up wealthy special interests to fund his next re-election and sending signals to extreme right-wing dark money groups to attack Democrats," Weathersby said. "Governor Walker will need every penny he can get if he wants to overcome his trend of poor favorability ratings and compete with a Democratic vision to bring fairness and opportunity to every community in Wisconsin."

In the call, Walker touted a budget that leans into his re-election by cutting income, property and sales taxes and raising funding for education. Making many of the same points he makes in public, the governor highlighted the state's 3.7% unemployment as a sign of the improving economy.

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In a statement, Walker campaign aide Joe Fadness said that "any campaign would be based on Governor Walker’s strong record of results and reform" and the fact that the state now has its "lowest unemployment rate since 2000."

After a year of holding invite-only town halls around the state, Walker told donors he's been hitting local GOP events like Lincoln Day dinners to sell his budget and agenda.

But he also said that his team needs to do more as he decides whether to launch a campaign after approving the state budget this summer. Walker, the chairman of the Republican Governors Association, said he expects Democrats and their allies such as unions and environmentalists could raise $500 million nationwide to spend on governor's races in target states like Wisconsin.

“We’ve seen the lengths that they’re willing to go to stop us.”

The latest Marquette University Law School poll put Walker at a 45% approval rating, an uptick that puts the governor on higher ground but not out of danger if a Democratic wave were to crest in 2018.

By ramping up fundraising over the next several months, Walker gives himself a chance at stronger campaign finance numbers when he publicly reports them in July. That could give the governor more comfort about a re-election run and may intimidate Democratic challengers as they mull their own bids.