PLATTEVILLE, Wis. (AP) — Scott Walker is a union supporter, believes women should have the right to abortion and wants to expand health insurance.
If you are confused, get in line.
This Scott Walker is not the former governor of Wisconsin whose battles with teachers and other public unions made him one of the most polarizing political figures in the swing state’s recent history. That was Scott Kevin Walker. This is Scott Abbot Walker, a Democratic rural doctor running for the state legislature.
“Sometimes you encounter people who are openly hostile,” Walker said of voters’ reactions when he introduces himself. “Sometimes they close the door when I say my name because they’re unhappy.”
Walker is running against Republican Travis Tranel, who has been in office for 14 years, in the 49th district. The district stretches across a rolling farm landscape in Grant and Crawford counties in the far southwest of Wisconsin. The district’s largest community is Platteville, a city of about 11,000 residents that is best known for its tiny state university.
Walker enters November as a clear underdog in this decidedly Republican district. Former President Donald Trump won in both 2016 and 2020, and Tranel has held the Assembly seat since 2011.
Joyce Bos, chair of the Grant County Democratic Party, and candidate Walker discussed how to approach the name issue when he enters the race. They briefly considered branding him “Dr. Scott” or “Dr. Walker,” but ultimately decided to leave it at that. Walker does wear a button, however, letting people know he is “the other Scott Walker.”
“That’s the elephant in the room,” Scott Abbot Walker said of his name. “But when you’re going door to door, that’s an advantage. I never have to say my name twice.”
Tranel downplayed his opponent’s famous nickname, saying voters were more concerned about inflation. He said people should be concerned about Walker’s “socialist policies” and criminal background.
Candidate Walker was fined $700 in 2018 after being accused of pointing a shotgun at his housekeeper. According to court documents, the housekeeper had not been paid and showed up at Walker’s home demanding property as compensation. Walker pointed the gun at her when she refused to leave.
He told the Associated Press that he was depressed at the time and had filed for bankruptcy. He said he didn’t have a phone to call police when the woman refused to leave, so he pointed his shotgun at her car tire. He stressed that he never pointed the gun at her.
The differences between the two walkers couldn’t be greater.
The former governor is 56 years elderly, has gloomy hair, no college degree and is currently president of Young America’s Foundation, an organization that supports adolescent conservatives. As governor, he stripped public unions of their collective bargaining rights in early 2011, sparking weeks of protests outside the state Capitol and an unsuccessful recall attempt. Democrat Tony Evers eventually defeated him in 2018.
When a spokesman asked him for comment on the candidate who mentioned his name, the former governor responded by saying Tranel was “the right guy” and that he was proud to support him. He did not comment on Walker as a candidate.
Candidate Walker is 66 years elderly, statuesque, and has silver-white hair. He has a medical degree from Case Western Reserve University and runs a clinic for the underinsured in the 49th District. He supports unions and has the backing of Planned Parenthood.
So far, voters have reacted to Walker’s candidacy with a mixture of amusement and confusion.
Democrats who stopped to pick up Walker yard signs outside the Grant County Democratic Party headquarters in Platteville jokingly suggested the candidate change his name. “Take it Scotty or something,” Denny Fuseth, 71, of Lancaster, told him, drawing laughter from the candidate.
Fuseth said he was confused when a friend told him Scott Walker was running.
“Why should we go back?” said Fuseth. “We got rid of him once.”
Ron Johnsen, 64, initially didn’t seem to realize which Walker was standing on his porch when the candidate knocked on his door to hand him a flyer. Johnsen, a retired maintenance worker at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, told Walker he wasn’t ecstatic about losing his union rights and that he had signed the recall petition.
“I looked at him and he doesn’t look like the (Scott Walker) I remember,” Johnsen said.
