Walker promotes his record in Wisconsin

WASHINGTON -- Scott Walker hasn't formally declared his presidential campaign, but he sure sounded like a candidate Saturday night as he discussed his gubernatorial record in Wisconsin before prominent groups of social conservatives.

In addition to battles with the state public unions -- including the defeat of a re-call election -- Walker mentioned new Wisconsin laws designed to promote gun rights, prevent abortion, end teachers' tenure ("we can hire and fire based on merit") and stimulate the local economy.

"If we can do it in a state as blue as Wisconsin, there's no doubt we can do it anywhere in America," the two-term governor said during the dinner event sponsored by the Faith & Freedom Coalition and Concerned Women for America.

Walker's remarks capped a four-day gathering of conservative activists who heard from nearly all the Republican presidential candidates for 2016.

Walker, who is in the midst of a legislative session, is expected to announce his presidential plans next month.

Thanking conservative groups across the nation for helping him during his contentious tenure in Wisconsin, Walker said his governorship has been about more than fighting unions -- "it was about taking on big government special interests."

In discussing federal policy, Walker outlined three goals: "Growth," including tax cuts and de-regulation; "reform," designed to reduce dependence on government; and "safety," which involves challenges from "radical Islamic terrorism" to re-building the nation's military.

There's also a political aspect to his pitch: Walker pointed out that no Republican has won the state of Wisconsin in a presidential election since Ronald Reagan. The governor who has won three elections since 2010, including the re-call effort, suggested he could break that losing streak.

Given the likelihood that they will face Hillary Clinton in the 2016 general election, Republicans must find someone who can win elections and get results, Walker said, and he claimed he has done both.

"We fight the good fights," Walker said. "And we win those fights."