Gov. Scott Walker said at a news conference in Wauwatosa Wednesday he will support the Republican Party’s nomination for president, despite previous wrangling with GOP front-runner Donald Trump.
Walker has been reluctant to tout the possibility of a Trump presidency but made it clear he would stand behind him as the party’s nominee. This comes immediately after Trump won by large margins in the New York primary election Tuesday, leaving his opponents with a long haul to catch up to the business mogul in the delegate count.
“To me, I think it's preferable to have a Republican nominee over Hillary Clinton,” Walker said, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I think there's a lot of distress not only amongst Republicans and independents, but I think part of Bernie Sanders' support is because a lot of young voters, in particular, don't trust her."
Even still, Trump faces the chance of not getting the 1,237 delegates needed to clinch the Republican nomination, a scenario Walker sees likely and favorable, as he has already thrown his support behind Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
Walker spent much of the time leading up to the Wisconsin primary campaigning for Cruz across the state. Despite the poor numbers Cruz received in the New York primary, Walker has stood firm with his endorsement, pledging his support as long as the Texas senator garners more than a third of support from delegates in a contested convention.
Ultimately, Walker said he believes neither candidate will obtain the required number of delegates before the party’s convention this summer. He reiterated that the party was “a long ways off from a nominee” and that Cruz will prevail.
Upcoming primaries for both parties this month are set for April 26 in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.
