For months, Scott Walker was planning on headlining at the Republican state convention in California.
On Friday, he suddenly canceled his appearance without explanation:
Presidential candidate Scott Walker on Friday abruptly canceled his planned speech at the California Republican Party convention next weekend, according to someone involved with the event's planning who was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
Walker, the governor of Wisconsin, had been a top draw to the state GOP gathering, and was due to speak at the Saturday night dinner in front of hundreds of delegates and guests in Anaheim.
Walker's campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
I'm trying hard not to read too much into this news, but one cannot help but speculate that his campaign is in trouble. After an endless series of punts, flip flops and gaffes, Walker has seen his support - both with voters and campaign fund donors - drop nationally.
This is especially true in Iowa, a must win state for Walker:
Republican Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s once-strong lead in the Iowa polls has melted, as voters there turn their favor toward Donald Trump and Ben Carson, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll.
Mr. Trump was the favorite in the survey of likely Republican presidential caucus-goers released Friday, with 27% support, a 17 point rise since July 1. Mr. Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, was second with 21%.
Mr. Walker led polling in the state for months, only to be eclipsed last month by Mr. Trump, the brash New York developer and reality television star. The Quinnipiac poll shows the Wisconsin governor surpassed by nine of his competitors, including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz at 9%, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush at 6% and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Sen. Marco Rubio and former Hewlett-Packard Co. chief executive Carly Fiorina, each at 5%.
Indeed, the Quinnipiac poll shows that Walker is at only 3% with likely Iowa voters.
Like I said, I'm not trying to read too much into the news of Walker canceling his trip to California. There are a lot of possible explanations. But I can't help but think that Walker realizes that he is in deep trouble and is going to try to salvage any chance he has in Iowa.
At the same time, Walker also knows he can't survive without the largess of his corporate overlords. He has been spending money on his campaign like a drunken Republican. If his puppet masters dry up his cash flow, he won't make it past Iowa anyway.
It appears that instead of "wreaking havoc" on Washington D.C., the only place Walker is wreaking havoc is with his own campaign.
UPDATE: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is reporting that Walker canceled the California event and another speech to focus on Iowa and South Carolina.
