Walker suggests he’ll skip Florida primary

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) suggested Tuesday that he might sit out the 2016 Florida GOP primary, letting likely rivals Sen. Marco Rubio and former Gov. Jeb Bush duke it out in their home state.

“If we chose to get in, I don’t think there’s a state out there we wouldn’t play in, other than maybe Florida, where Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio, in some of the polls, are essentially tied,” Walker told conservative radio host Laura Ingraham.

Walker is expected to announce his own 2016 bid soon.

{mosads}”They’re going to eat up a good amount of that financial advantage that Gov. Bush is gonna have,” Walker added, suggesting the challenge from Rubio would help chip away at Bush’s likely massive campaign fund.

He noted that Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) planned on spending $100 million during his successful reelection bid last year. 

“A good chunk of that will be going up to the Florida primary,” said Walker about running in a state with many expensive media markets.

He suggested he would likely focus instead on the Iowa caucuses and early primary states of New Hampshire and South Carolina. 

Florida’s primary next year will be held on March 15. In 2012, it was held much earlier, in January, and helped boost former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney toward the GOP nomination. 

Walker is expected to announce his presidential campaign sometime after his state’s lawmakers pass a budget next month. He has been moving toward a bid for months.

Rubio has formally announced his candidacy, which Bush has yet to do.

Recent polls have shown Walker and Rubio leading the pack in a crowded field of Republican White House hopefuls.