Scott Walker (R)

Education

Walker supports opening up educational options to parents and families through vouchers, charter schools and virtual charter schools and by removing enrollment and eligibility caps on charter schools.

State Budget and Taxes

With a record of bringing Milwaukee out of an economic downturn fueled by his predecessor's corrupt leadership and balancing the city budget, Walker is a staunch fiscal conservative interested in saving money above all else.

As one of his first acts as governor-elect, he made what was seen as an aggressively partisan move when he rejected already-approved federal funding to build a high-speed train between Milwakuee and Madison. Walker called the $810 million in stimulus funding too excessive and urged the federal government to redistribute the money to road projects in other states, though it was instead put towards other high-speed rail projects in other states.. Outgoing Gov. Jim Doyle (D) said the rail-line would stimulate Wisconsin's economy and create 5,500 jobs, but Walker had promised even during his campaign to refuse the money that he claimed would eventually be a burden to taxpayers.

He has also threatened to reverse the state's budget deficit by forcing state employees to pay more for their health-care pensions. However, Walker opposes forcing consumers to help share the state's burden and has spoken against raising the Wisconsin sales tax.

Collective Bargaining

In February 2011, Walker made national headlines and caused a political tempest when tens of thousands of teachers stormed the state Capitol to protest the governor's measure eliminating the collective bargaining rights of public employees.

Under Walker's plan, which is aimed at closing a $3.6 billion state budget deficit, most public workers (except for police, firefighters and state troopers) would shoulder half of their pension costs and at least 12 percent of their health-care costs and lose bargaining rights for anything but their wages. The plan would also end automatic paycheck deductions for union dues.

But as protests gathered strength, and Democratic legislators fled across the Illinois line in order to deny the GOP-controlled legislature a quorum to act on the bill, President Obama got involved, deploying his political operation to Wisconsin and other states considering similar measures.

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