Walker on Jeb: We need a name from the future, not the past

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker alternately praised and took swipes at his likely presidential rivals during an interview with the Tampa Bay Times on Friday in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Asked about Republican establishment support for former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Walker said the “next up” mentality has not worked with candidates like Bob Dole in 1996, John McCain in 2008 and Mitt Romney in 2012, and it won’t cut it against Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton.


“Jeb’s a good man. You’re not going to hear me speak ill” of him, Walker said, noting that Bush called him two days before announcing his leadership PAC. “I just think voters are going to look at this and say, ‘If we’re running against Hillary Clinton, we’ll need a name from the future - not a name from the past - to win.’ “

Walker acknowledged Bush’s fundraising advantage as well.

“There’s a lot of people who are loyal to that family because of an ambassadorship or an appointment or something like that, so those people are going to show up big on his first report,” the Republican governor said, remarking that he is hoping for “donors of passion,” not “donors of obligation.”

He also weighed in on Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, calling him “great at foreign policy and other issues,” but adding that “there’s a difference” between being a governor and being a senator.

“In my lifetime, the most significant president in terms of foreign policy was a governor: Ronald Reagan,” he said.

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