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Capitol View®
Tim Pugmire

Wisconsin Gov. Walker drops presidential bid

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Scott Walker
Republican presidential candidate Wisconsin Gov., Scott Walker speaks at a presidential forum sponsored by Heritage Action at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Friday, Sept. 18, 2015, in Greenville, S.C. (AP Photo/Richard Shiro)

From the Associated Press:

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is exiting the race for president with harsh words for Republican front-runner Donald Trump.

At a news conference Monday in Wisconsin, Walker plans to say he's suspending his White House campaign "so that a positive conservative message can rise to the top of the field."

Walker says he's encouraging other Republicans in the still sizable field to do the same.

He says that's needed so that "voters can focus on a limited number of candidates who can offer a positive conservative alternative to the current front-runner."

While Walker doesn't call out the billionaire real-estate mogul by name, he says offering an alternative to Trump is "fundamentally important" to the future of the GOP and the country.

Former state Rep. Marty Seifert, one of the Minnesota campaign co-chairs for Walker, said he was surprised by news.

Seifert thought Walker was a quality candidate who was getting well-organized in Minnesota and had a good chance to win the state's Republican precinct caucuses on March 1. Seifert said he thinks Walker was having trouble staying competitive with campaign fundraising in the crowded GOP field.

"Mr. Trump and some other candidates probably had the ability to tap into personal wealth," Seifert said. "But Gov. Walker just was not in that situation. He had to raise money the old fashioned way, and that's difficult when you have that many people running for president all at the same time."

Seifert said he's now looking for a new candidate to support, someone who's a solid conservative with the broad appeal needed to win the general election.