Who is Scott Walker, the Wisconsin governor launched his White House bid on Monday? Here are six things to know about the GOP presidential hopeful:
HIS FAMILY
Walker often talks about his wife, Tonette, and sons Matt and Alex. He credits the strength of Tonette, who works for the American Lung Association, for getting him through the 2011 protests and death threats surrounding his efforts to curb collective-bargaining rights of public-sector union workers. Tonette, 12 years older than her husband, was a widow when she met Scott at a Wauwautosa, Wis., barbecue joint. The couple married in 1993. Their son Matt, a student at Marquette University, was a Midwest vice chairman of the College Republicans. Youngest son Alex attends the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Walker said his sons are planning to take the fall off from college to campaign for their dad.
PREACHER'S KID
The governor's father, Llewellyn Walker (better known as Llew), is a retired Baptist minister. For a time in the 1970s, he also served on the City Council in Plainfield, Iowa. The family moved to Delavan, Wis., when Scott was 10. As a young boy, the governor would frequently speak in church on youth Sundays and, as a teenager, stand in for vacationing Baptist preachers in the summers. But life for the preacher's kid wasn't always easy, Scott Walker told the Wisconsin State Journal in 2010. "It was a fishbowl," he said. "Everyone knew my father. And everywhere I went, they asked me to lead them in prayer. I was happy to do it, but I remember thinking at the time, ‘You know, this stuff isn't osmosis.' "
BOYS NATION
Walker says he got the political bug when he attended Boys Nation in Washington — a well-known civic program run on the state and national level by the American Legion. Walker's 1985 trip to the nation's capital was his first. He told the American Legion that he was moved by the sight of the monuments, particularly the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. "That really whetted my appetite for politics," Walker told the Journal Sentinel in 2002. "It's one of the few things I probably have in common with Bill Clinton."
HIS WINNING STREAK
Walker has won 11 races in a row. He hasn't lost since he was defeated in 1990 for the state Assembly by Democrat Gwen Moore, now a member of Congress. His win streak includes being elected five times to the Assembly, starting in 1993, and three victories as Milwaukee County executive beginning with a 2002 special election. On his 43rd birthday in 2010, Walker beat Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett to become governor and defeated him again in the 2012 recall election. Walker defeated Mary Burke last year for a second term as governor.
NO COLLEGE DEGREE
If he is elected president, Walker would be the first since Harry Truman without a college degree. He began working for IBM while attending Marquette University and left in his senior year to take a full-time job for the American Red Cross. Walker has said he always wanted to go back and finish his degree, but didn't have time as his family and work commitments grew. Walker frequently notes he's like a majority of Americans who have graduated from high school and attended some college. He dismisses criticism of his college status as elitist.
HARLEY RIDER
While he was Milwaukee County executive, Walker led a motorcycle tour across Wisconsin and neighboring states to promote tourism. For the first time in 2003, Walker stopped renting a hog. His wife gave him a Harley Davidson Road King (made for the company's 100th anniversary) as a belated 40th birthday present. The governor said in his book,Unintimidated, that the bike now has more than 20,000 miles on it.
