Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz thanks Gov. Scott Walker for his support while speaking to a crowd at Serb Hall in Milwaukee on Tuesday. Credit: Mark Hoffman

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Gov. Scott Walker took to the airwaves Wednesday to tout Ted Cruz's victory Tuesday in Wisconsin over Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump, saying the result showed that the state's voters were actively engaged in the election and closely scrutinized the candidates.

Walker, speaking Wednesday morning to conservative talk radio host Charlie Sykes on WTMJ-AM, called it a "great day for Wisconsin, great day for America."

The governor endorsed Cruz a week ago and then spent several days on the campaign trail appearing with the Texas senator on his way to victory Tuesday.

Walker argued on WTMJ-AM that though Cruz, who is behind Trump in the delegate count, still may have trouble winning the nomination on the first ballot at the Republican convention later this year, Cruz shouldn't have a hard time rallying support of the party against Trump.

"I think on the second ballot, Ted Cruz is the guy," Walker said.

Walker gave a nod to the role Sykes and other conservative talk radio hosts played in supporting Cruz and giving voters what Walker called "a level playing field of information." And he said the large turnout Tuesday and the convincing win in Wisconsin showed broad support for Cruz that could bode well for him in a general election against Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders as the Democratic challenger.

"These were not small little primary election numbers," Walker said. "These were numbers that are comparable to the normal election cycles ... and I think Ted Cruz showed he could win across the spectrum."

Turnout in Tuesday's election was the highest of any Wisconsin presidential primary since 1972, based on unofficial returns. About half of the people who could vote did vote.

Cruz beat Trump, 48% to 35%, on Tuesday. On the Democratic side Bernie Sanders took 56% in Wisconsin, compared to front-runner Hillary Clinton's 43%.

Walker spoke only briefly about Rebecca Bradley, mentioning her win in the state Supreme Court race as part of a broader victory for conservatives.

Supreme Court races are nonpartisan, though Bradley had been appointed by Walker in October last year to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Justice N. Patrick Crooks a month earlier.