--- title: 2016 Presidential Race: Scott Walker Leads Republicans in Iowa description: An early lead for Scott Walker canonical: https://time.com/3691217/scott-walker-2016-presidential-election-iowa/ author: Dan Hirschhorn article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-02-01T14:10:33.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:49:44.302Z article:section: Politics og:title: Wisconsin Gov Leads Republicans in Tight Iowa 2016 Race og:description: An early lead for Scott Walker og:url: https://time.com/3691217/scott-walker-2016-presidential-election-iowa/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7d61d11af36c48cd/69877d0f06f2c1fbc6333bf6/scott-walker.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker Delivers Keynote At The American Action Forum og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Wisconsin Gov Leads Republicans in Tight Iowa 2016 Race twitter:description: An early lead for Scott Walker twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7d61d11af36c48cd/69877d0f06f2c1fbc6333bf6/scott-walker.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Wisconsin Governor Leads Republicans in Tight Iowa 2016 Race, Poll Says by [Dan Hirschhorn](https://time.com/author/dan-hirschhorn/) ## Dan Hirschhorn Feb 1, 2015 2:10 PM UTC  Scott Walker governor of Wisconsin speaks during a panel discussion at the American Action Forum in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 30, 2015. Scott Walker governor of Wisconsin speaks during a panel discussion at the American Action Forum in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 30, 2015.Bloomberg/Getty Images by [Dan Hirschhorn](https://time.com/author/dan-hirschhorn/) ## Dan Hirschhorn Feb 1, 2015 2:10 PM UTC Wisconsin Gov. [Scott Walker](http://time.com/3690123/scott-walker-comes-to-washington-to-bash-washington/) is leading a crowded field of Republican presidential hopefuls in the key state of Iowa, [according to a new poll](http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/iowa-poll/2015/01/31/iowa-poll-walker-leads-tight-pack/22659477/), but the race remains wide open exactly a year before the caucuses. The Des Moines _Register_ poll released Sunday shows Walker garnering 15% of the vote when likely Republican caucusgoers are asked which candidate would be their first choice. Walker shot to conservative stardom after a high-profile fight with public sector unions over collective bargaining rights and survived recall elections to oust him. **MORE:** [Scott Walker Comes to Washington to Bash Washington](http://time.com/3690123/scott-walker-comes-to-washington-to-bash-washington/) Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul is in second place at 14%, followed by Mitt Romney at 13% and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee at 10%. The poll was conducted just before Romney, the 2012 GOP nominee, [announced he won’t run again in 2016](http://time.com/3689517/romney-abandons-2016-campaign-for-president/). No other candidate or would-be candidate cracks 10%. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is the first choice of 8% of likely caucusgoers, while New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie gets 4%. The Iowa caucuses kick off the presidential nomination fight on Feb. 1, 2016\. The survey of 402 likely Republican caucusgoers, conducted Jan. 26-29, has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points. ### See the 2016 Candidates Looking Very Presidential  Sen. Ted Cruz is surrounded by stars and stripes at the 2014 Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C. on September 26, 2014. Mark Peterson—Redux  Hillary Clinton Hillary Clinton gazes pensively into the distance at Iowa Senator Tom Harken'a annual Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa on September 14, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis for TIME  Jeb Bush Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush flashes a power watch before giving his keynote address at the National Summit on Education Reform in Washington on Nov. 20, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Bernie Sanders waves to supporters after officially announcing his candidacy for the U.S. presidency during an event at Waterfront Park in Burlington, Vermont, on May 26, 2015. Win McNamee—Getty Images  Chris Christie New Jersey Governor Chris Christie strikes a presidential power stance at the ceremony for the opening of the 206 bypass in Hillsborough, New Jersey on October 28, 2013. Mark Peterson—Redux  Former Hewlett-Packard Co Chief Executive Officer Carly Fiorina listens to her introduction from the side of the stage at the Freedom Summit in Des Moines, Iowa on Jan. 24, 2015. Jim Young—Reuters  Rand Paul Sen. Rand Paul works a crowd during a campaign stop on October 24, 2014 in McDonough, Georgia. Jessica McGowan—Getty Images  Rick Perry Texas Gov. Rick Perry looks powerfully patriotic during the National Anthem before an NCAA college football game on Nov. 27, 2014, in College Station, Texas. David J. Phillip—AP  Bobby Jindal Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal looks to the future during The Family Leadership Summit on Aug. 9, 2014, in Ames, Iowa. Charlie Neibergall—AP  Martin O'Malley Maryland Governor Martin OíMalley ponders decorating ideas in front of his possible future home on CBS's Face the Nation on Feb. 23, 2014. Chris Usher—AP  Marco Rubio Sen. Marco Rubio looks determined the morning after the State of the Union address in Washington, D.C. on January 29, 2014. Melissa Golden—Redux  Ben CarsonBen Carson at the Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference on March 8, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Jim Webb Retiring Sen. Jim Webb imitates the presidential wave during a rally in Virginia Beach, Va. on Sept. 27, 2012. Steve Helber—AP  John Kasich Ohio Gov. John Kasich practices his presidential victory pose at the Ohio Republican Party celebration on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014, in Columbus, Ohio. Tony Dejak—AP  Rick Santorum Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum looks resolute at CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference on March 7, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Scott Walker Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker practices the presidential point on March 3, 2014 in Milwaukee. Jeffrey Phelps—AP  Mike Huckabee Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee fine-tunes his presidential oratory at the Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference in National Harbor, Md. on March 7, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Lincoln Chafee, Former Rhode Island Governor, poses for a selfie with a student after announcing he will seek the Democratic nomination for president in Arlington, Va. on June 3, 2015. Jonathan Ernst—Reuters  Lindsey Graham Lindsey Graham announced his plans to join the 2016 presidential race. Alex Wong—Getty Images  George Pataki Former New York governor George Pataki listens to a question at the First in the Nation Republican Leadership Conference in Nashua, New Hampshire, in this April 17, 2015 file photo. Brian Snyder—Reuters ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3691217/scott-walker-2016-presidential-election-iowa/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3691217/scott-walker-2016-presidential-election-iowa/"},"headline":"Wisconsin Governor Leads Republicans in Tight Iowa 2016 Race, Poll Says","datePublished":"2015-02-01T14:10:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:49:44.302Z","description":"An early lead for Scott Walker","url":"https://time.com/3691217/scott-walker-2016-presidential-election-iowa/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7d61d11af36c48cd/69877d0f06f2c1fbc6333bf6/scott-walker.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Hirschhorn","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/dan-hirschhorn/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7d61d11af36c48cd/69877d0f06f2c1fbc6333bf6/scott-walker.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker Delivers Keynote At The American Action Forum","caption":"Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker Delivers Keynote At The American Action Forum","creditText":"Bloomberg/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2016-election/","name":"2016 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3691217/scott-walker-2016-presidential-election-iowa/","name":"Wisconsin Governor Leads Republicans in Tight Iowa 2016 Race, Poll Says"}}]}] ```