Mary Burke could beat WI Governor Scott Walker
August 8, 2014
VIROQUA, Wis. — Mary Burke might be the last candidate you’d expect to potentially topple one of the Republican Party’s leading governors and upend the 2016 presidential field. The only elected office she’s ever held is a school board seat. She didn’t even become a Democrat until her 40s. And in heavily working class Wisconsin, it was only two years ago that the scion to the Trek Bicycle fortune was being dismissed by her own party as a “1 percenter.”
Yet here she is, tied with Walker in the polls, finally getting some overdue attention from the national press — and within striking distance of delivering the biggest shock of Election 2014.
In a reflection of how competitive this race has become, sources told POLITICO this week that the Republican Governors Association has reserved $2.3 million this fall in Wisconsin — making the contest one of the party’s top gubernatorial priorities.
