It was inevitable -- things are so fluid at this stage, it's almost pointless to make these assumptions the media made about President Scott Walker. The real problem (the one they're not so eager to talk about) is that any Republican who runs may be on a suicide mission, and if they admitted that, who would watch their teevee shows? Via The Hill:
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has hit a bump in the presidential race as new candidates have crowded the field, and his national poll numbers have faltered.
He was seen as an early favorite to win the Iowa caucuses after taking the race by storm with a well-received speech in January at GOP Rep. Steve King’s Iowa Freedom Summit.
Since then, some air has come out of the Walker balloon.
A Quinnipiac University poll released on Wednesday still shows him with a big lead in the Hawkeye State, with 21 percent support. He leads Rubio, the next closest candidate, by 8 percentage points.
But Walker’s support has fallen in Iowa. In a Quinnipiac poll from February, Walker had taken 25 percent support and led the next closest candidate by 12 percentage points.
Nationally, Walker’s support peaked at 17.3 percent on April 1 and dropped to 12.3 percent on Wednesday, according to the RealClearPolitics average of polls.
He’s been overtaken by two candidates seeking to appeal to establishment-minded Republicans.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush now leads the field at 15.5 percent support, followed by Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.) at 14.3 percent.
GOP pollsters say Walker, who has not formally entered the race, excited Republicans earlier this year with his visit to Iowa. But they argue his support in polls could be soft.
“Walker had that speech that was very well received, and people wanted to hear more, but these are people who are just leaning in his direction right now,” said GOP pollster David Winston. “The challenge is going to be in getting these people to commit.”