Walker Formally Joins the Presidential Race

Wisconsin’s Governor Scott Walker officially threw his name in the hat for the 2016 presidential election. On Monday July 13, just a day after the governor signed the state budget into law, the governor held a rally at Waukesha’s Expo Center. The governor impressed journalists and political insiders alike, giving a 30-minute speech without a teleprompter or podium.

No matter how exceptional his memorization skills are, coming off as extraordinary in a field of 16 serious Republican candidates and scores of other less serious options will be difficult. Walker’s first chance to make himself known nationally will be on August 6 when the first Republican national debate will be on Fox News at 9 p.m./8c. With a crowded field, the rules are set so that only those candidates polling in the top 10 will be on the primetime debate stage. On August 4, debate organizers will take the average of national polls and those in the top 10 will be on the primetime debate stage. The remaining six candidates will participate in a “roundtable” debate, which will air an hour before the primetime debate. The second Republican debate will be on September 16 and CNN will host.

Governor Walker’s chances of getting in the top 10 are high. The most recent national poll has Walker in 2nd place with 13%, 11 points behind Donald Trump and just 1 point ahead of Jeb Bush. Most candidates see a bump in the polls around their announcement as media coverage around them increases, so Walker is likely to stay afloat.

Below is a list of other presidential contenders who have formally entered the race:

Republicans Democrats
Ted Cruz: US Senator for Texas
Announced: March 23
Hillary Clinton: Former Secretary of State, Former US Senator for New York, Former First Lady
Announced: April 12
Rand Paul: US Senator for Kentucky.
Announced: April 7
Bernie Sanders: US Senator for Vermont
Announced: April 30
Marco Rubio: US Senator for Florida
Announced: April 13
Martin O’Malley: Former Governor of Maryland and former Mayor of Baltimore
Announced: May 30
Carly Fiorina: Former CEO of Hewlett-Packard
Announced: May 4
Lincoln Chafee: Rhode Island Senator (as a Republican), Rhode Island Governor (as an Independent, then as a Democrat)
Announced: June 3
Ben Carson: Former Head of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins
Announced: May 4
Jim Webb: Former US Senator for Virginia, Former Secretary of the Navy, Novelist, Film Producer
Announced: July 2
Mike Huckabee: Former Governor of Arkansas and Fox News host
Announced: May 5
 
Rick Santorum: Former US Senator for Pennsylvania.
Announced May 27
 
George Pataki: Former Governor of New York
Announced: May 28
 
Lindsey Graham: US Senator for South Carolina
Announced: June 1
 
Ricky Perry: Former Governor of Texas
Announced: June 4
 
Jeb Bush: Former Governor of Florida
Announced: June 15
 
Donald Trump: Businessman, Television Personality, Author
Announced: June 16
 
Bobby Jindal: Former Governor of Louisiana and former U.S. Congressman
Announced: June 24
 
Chris Christie: Governor of New Jersey
Announced: June 30
 
Scott Walker: Governor of Wisconsin
Announced: July 13
 
John Kasich: Governor of Ohio.
Announced: July 21