Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker failed to deliver in GOP debate, analysts say

Donovan Slack | USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — The reviews of the second Republican presidential debate are in, and they’re not good for Gov. Scott Walker.

A Washington Post columnist dubbed him one of the biggest losers among the 11-candidate field in the prime-time Wednesday faceoff.

Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia said Walker “made the least of his time.”

Politico suggested his candidacy is now “on life support.”

The Wisconsin governor and onetime Iowa front-runner needed to deliver a standout performance to reverse his plummeting standings in the polls, but nonpartisan analysts said Thursday he failed to deliver.

“I just don’t think it was enough,” said Jennifer Duffy of the Cook Political Report. “I think he’s on a slow, painful slide.”

Walker launched an attack on front-runner Donald Trump early in the debate, saying: “We don't need an apprentice in the White House. We have one right now.” But after that, he disappeared from view for lengthy periods of time as Trump tangled with other candidates, including former Florida governor Jeb Bush and Carly Fiorina, a former Hewlett-Packard executive whom many say won the debate.

Walker spoke for only eight minutes during the marathon, three-hour debate, according to an NPR tally. He was asked only three questions, and rarely did other candidates invoke his name, which would have given him more time to speak in rebuttal.

“Nobody up there thought they had to confront him on anything, which is indicative of the fact that nobody feels especially threatened by him,“ Duffy said.

That may be a reflection of his standing in recent polls. In the past six weeks, he has fallen from first place to 10th in Iowa and from 7% to 2% support in New Hampshire. Nationally, support for Walker slipped to 2 % among Republican primary voters, down from 10% last month, according to a CBS News/New York Times poll.

Reversing that trend required a much different approach to Wednesday night’s debate for Walker than he took during the first debate in early August. In the top tier at that point, the goal was to stay there. This time, the goal was to get back there.

“He had talked on the campaign trail before the debate about the obvious need to be more aggressive and on the attack, and I think he started out early in the debate in that mindset and was on the offensive but just kind of disappeared as the night went on,” said Aaron Kall, director of debate at the University of Michigan.

“Bush was the one Trump had talked about being a low-energy candidate, but I certainly think that moniker applies to Scott Walker last night,” Kall said. “He just didn’t have the energy and fight in order to stand out in a crowd.”

Walker’s campaign manager, Rick Wiley, asserted that the governor won the debate.

“He delivered a flawless performance, winning the debate by aggressively outlining his plans to wreak havoc on the status quo in Washington and reminding people of his unmatched record of leadership and achievement in Wisconsin,” Wiley said in a statement. “As the campaign progresses, we look forward to sharing that message with more and more voters across the nation.”

But if the early reviews and analysts prove correct, progress could be an increasingly difficult slog. By midday Thursday, Walker donors told The Washington Post they were worried about the state of his campaign, including its financial well-being, and that they felt a staff shakeup may be needed.

Stanley Hubbard, a Walker donor who oversees a Minnesota broadcasting empire, said Walker is “great” in person but is struggling to convey his message.

“Scott’s terrific,” Hubbard told USA TODAY. “He would be a great president, but he has to figure out how to break through. He’s got to translate that to television.”

Hubbard, who donated $50,000 to a pro-Walker super PAC earlier this year, said he remains committed to the Wisconsin governor but likely will donate to the campaigns of several other GOP candidates — Fiorina, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio — after Wednesday’s debate.

Kall of the University of Michigan said there’s no telling what kind of psychological impact the polling free fall and debate fallout has had on Walker and his team. But he said it’s “just not the place where you want to be.”

“His campaign could be on a real flatline and in jeopardy,” he said. “Because there’s not another debate, another opportunity to help himself for six more weeks.”

In Wisconsin, syndicated conservative talk-radio host Jerry Bader said he thought Walker’s going after Trump was a mistake. Bader, a longtime Walker observer through his gubernatorial election in 2010, recall election in 2012 and re-election last year, said he thought Walker was a contender for “most improved player” on the stage Wednesday.

But, he added, it’s unlikely he did enough.

“His performance would have been fine if he was in a tread-water mode, just do no harm,” Bader said.

“He's far beyond that.”

Contributing: Fredreka Schouten

Follow @donovanslack on Twitter.