Walker leads by retreating following stunning presidential collapse. Democrats swift to rejoice, but good cheer has turned to resolve to undo the damage Walker has done to the state.

MADISON - Yielding to reality in the polls and the exit of donors, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker announced here Monday that he was withdrawing from the Republican Presidential Primary race. The move came as a surprise to few who had watched his disappointing performance in the campaign.

In his statement, Walker said "Today, I believe that I am being called to lead by helping to clear the race so that a positive conservative message can rise to the top". Like many of his other confused statements during his official 71 day campaign, it is hard to know what that means.

As little as a month ago, Walker had stood high among the potential Republican candidates. But then the first two debates forced him out from behind his shield of TV ads and staged events before rabid supporters and voters saw that he had little of substance. As of Monday his poll numbers had dropped to essentially 0% and his large donors, including the Koch brothers, were heading for the hills.

Despite Walker's stunning presidential collapse, some state Republicans appeared to harbor hopes of a comeback. Conservative radio host Charlie Sykes tweeted Monday that Walker's bow-out reminded him of when Walker dropped out of the 2006 race for Wisconsin governor: "Chose to live to fight another day."

Wisconsin Democrats were swift to rejoice. "We all let out a cheer when we heard the news that Governor Walker was dropping out of the Republican Presidential Primary," Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Martha Laning said in a statement. "It was gratifying to see Governor Walker's divide and conquer strategy fail this time because everyone has seen what that has done to our state."

But democratic good cheer has swiftly turned to a resolve to undo the damage Walker has done to the state as he pursued his political ambitions. "Wisconsin still has to live with the results of the extreme agenda he pushed here to further his standing in the Republican Presidential Primary", said Laning.

Wisconsin union members have been stung by Act 10 and Walker's attacks on workers have left them disheartened. Jobs have been lost to other states and abroad. Wisconsinites pay more for health insurance and the once proud BadgerCare program has been weakened. Public school funds have been diverted to private voucher schools, and the once great University of Wisconsin system has lost $250 million in funding as Walker questioned whether its' faculty was "working".

It will be interesting to see how many allies the Democrats find among Republicans in Madison, many of whom were thrown under the bus when Walker was riding high.