MADISON - In a rare stop through the state he was elected to serve before another presidential campaign trip to Iowa, Scott Walker will be in La Crosse this weekend as Wisconsin Republicans hold their annual state convention, and the part-time governor is bringing Washington, D.C. with him.

PolitiFact Wisconsin today examined Walker’s travels, finding that so far in 2015 Walker has spent less than half his time in the state. Walker’s travels have included overseas trips to Israel and Europe intended to bolster his foreign policy credentials, and trips to Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, New York, Florida, Texas, and Washington, D.C.

Steven Davis, a political science professor at Edgewood College in Madison, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Walker is, “doing the bare minimum in discharging his duties as governor." Davis added that voters, “are starting to put it together and, at a time when he should be back home and on message, he’s not, he’s out running for president."

Even as Walker has been out of Wisconsin more than half the time this year, he’s still running as a Washington outsider and Wisconsin guy. But his campaign decisions and campaign travel paint a different picture than the image he portrays on the campaign trail -- Walker has visited Washington, D.C. every month this year and hired 11 staffers from D.C., to include a hire from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office announced today.

“Scott Walker is selling himself as a Washington outsider, but he’s literally treating Wisconsin -- where the taxpayers pay his salary -- like a flyover state as he runs for president,” Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Mike Tate said Friday. “Unless he’s going to stick around, balance the budget, accept funds to strengthen BadgerCare, and do his job, why bother stopping by? Maybe he’s just dropping off more new staffers from Washington, D.C. before he heads to Iowa.”

Walker Staff Hires from Washington, D.C.

Andrew Bremberg http://www.politico.com/story/2015/05/andrew-bremberg-joins-scott-walker-117987.html
Jon Waclawski  http://time.com/3859694/republican-primary-2016-calendar-rules/
Rick Wiley http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/01/07/us/politics/ap-us-gop-2016-walker.html?_r=0
Kirsten Kukowski http://edition.cnn.com/2015/02/02/politics/scott-walker-2016-campaign-hires/
Jenny Drucker http://www.politico.com/story/2015/02/walker-targets-romney-donors-jeb-turf-114894.html
Mike Gallagher http://www.politico.com/story/2015/02/walker-hires-domestic-foreign-policy-advisers-115299.html?hp=r2_4
Kristin Jackson http://www.politico.com/story/2015/02/walker-hires-domestic-foreign-policy-advisers-115299.html?hp=r2_4
AshLee Strong http://blogs.rollcall.com/wgdb/strong-leaving-the-senate-heading-to-wisconsin-for-walker/?dcz=
Matt Hall http://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2015/03/25/romney-campaign-official-joins-gov-scott-walkers-effort
Dan Vajdich http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/chi-scott-walker-foreign-policy-20150410-story.html#page=1
Reagan Thompson http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/chi-scott-walker-foreign-policy-20150410-story.html#page=1