(NewsNation) — President Joe Biden’s record on the U.S.-Mexico border and crime will likely hurt him in the polls in November, according to former Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker.
In an interview with NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday,” Walker said that because of those two issues, GOP voters will be more likely to accept former President Donald Trump’s harsh rhetoric than vote for a moderate.
“Three big issues: Border security, public safety and high prices,” said Walker. “If the election is a referendum on those three things, Joe Biden loses. He loses big not only in Wisconsin and Michigan, but I think in all the battleground states.”
NewsNation polling partner DecisionDesk HQ currently has Biden trailing Trump by nearly two points in Wisconsin and four points in Michigan.
Walker believes voters who may have voted for Biden in 2020 to escape what he called the “political chaos” of Trump’s first term, won’t do it again.
“They thought they’d get someone moderate, someone reasonable in Joe Biden,” said Walked. “This was a mistake. They’d rather take a little bit of comments or Tweets that they didn’t care for, than the uncertainty that they get when it comes to the border, and that gets to public safety.”
With Wisconsin’s presidential primary on Tuesday, Democrats see an opportunity unlike any in the recent history of Walker’s home state. New legislative districts adopted last month erase Republican advantages that gave the GOP dominance of the Wisconsin Assembly even as Democrats won 14 of the past 17 statewide elections. Democrats think they can now compete for a majority, but also that invigorated legislative campaigns can help turn out votes for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in November.
Four of the past six presidential elections in Wisconsin, including in 2016 and 2020, were decided by fewer than 30,000 votes. In 2018, Democrat Tony Evers edged GOP incumbent Scott Walker for governor in 2018 by 29,227 votes. In 2022, Democrat Mandela Barnes fell 26,255 votes short of defeating Republican Sen. Ron Johnson.
NewsNation affiliate The Hill contributed to this report.