Matt Walker, the son of former Governor Scott Walker and a founder of Platform Digital, announced Saturday that he is considering a run for Congress.
“While I enjoy the work I do every day as a small business owner, I am actively exploring a possible Congressional campaign,” Walker wrote on Facebook. “The sacrifices of public office may be great, but the opportunity for my generation to step up and provide a new perspective is even greater. 21st-century problems require 21st-century solutions.”
Walker would be a candidate in Wisconsin’s fifth congressional district where Republican Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner announced he would not seek re-election after serving since 1979.
In his Facebook post, Walker said his relatively young age, 25, would give him a different perspective than other potential candidates in the race.
“I am exploring this potential campaign because there are plenty of Republicans, myself included, that will stand for lower taxes and higher standards, yet I am uniquely positioned to provide a fresh perspective on the 21st-century problems facing our nation,” Walker said. “Regardless of whether I launch a campaign in this race, our conservative movement needs a counterweight to the growing far left’s stumble towards ‘Democratic’ socialism. My rising generation has an opportunity to catapult our country forward or be the net that holds us back. We must move forward.”
Walker’s announcement comes a day after his father said in an interview with Adrienne Pederson on UpFront that the younger Walker’s candidacy was a possibility.
“I think in particular what intrigues him is he feels frustrated that AOC (Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez D-NY) somehow nationally is reflective of his generation,” former Governor Scott Walker said. “He’s 25 and he feels there needs to be a counter-voice to that.”
The former governor repeated the Ocasio-Cortez comparison on Twitter on Friday.
Other possible candidates for the Republican nomination in the fifth congressional district include: Former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, Waukesha County Executive Paul Farrow, state Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, former state Sen. Leah Vukmir (the GOP candidate for U.S. Senate in 2018), state Senators Dale Kooyenga & Chris Kapenga, state Rep. Adam Neylon (R-Pewaukee), former U.S. Senate candidate Kevin Nicholson, former state Sen. Rich Zipperer (currently Steil’s chief of staff), as well as a few others rumored to be considering entering the race.
Matt Walker began his Facebook post by thanking Sensenbrenner for his service in Congress.
“Thank you to U.S. Representative Jim Sensenbrenner for his many years of service to the people of the 5th Congressional district of Wisconsin,” Walker wrote. “He has been a consistent conservative voice in Washington.”
Ironically, Walker’s interest in succeeding Sensenbrenner follows tension between his father and the long-time congressman. The former governor was publicly disinvited from a celebration of Sensenbrenner’s 50 years as a public office holder due to a disagreement over President Donald Trump’s emergency declaration concerning the border with Mexico.
Walker currently lives in Milwaukee and would have to move to the district to run. However, he did grow up in Wauwatosa and has strong ties to the district.
Disclosure: RightWisconsin is hosted by Platform Digital.
