Gov. Scott Walker stands behind 'aiming big' in his job creation goal

Gov. Scott Walker, who has been known to swing by Cranky Al's doughnut shop after an election, had to skip his hometown tradition after he cast his ballot for the primary at 7 a.m. Tuesday morning at Jefferson Elementary School.

After answering questions at a news conference in the elementary school foyer, the Republican governor, up for re-election this fall, embarked on a day of "crisscrossing" the state to speak to voters about the contrast of "where we were four years ago," vs. today, and why voters should stand behind his job creation goal.

His plan was to visit Steven's Point Farm Technology Days Inc., and a Waukesha field office for an evening rally.

During the news conference at Jefferson, Walker defended his ambitious promise to create 250,000 private-sector jobs by the end of his four-year term. The actual number of jobs Walker has created is roughly 100,313, according to numbers crunched by PolitiFact Wisconsin in July.

"I don't think voters are going to turn around and penalize us for aiming big. Remember, we had to aim big to make up for the jobs that were lost in (former Gov.) Jim Doyle's last term," said Walker.

About 133,000 jobs and 27,000 business were lost during Doyle's term, which intersected with the recession.

Walker's Democratic challenger, Mary Burke, who was contested by Brett Hulsey, served as Doyle's commerce secretary from 2005 to 2007. She has been quoted as saying "I support Gov. Doyle's positions entirely." Walker has used her statement to link Burke to Doyle.

"If voters want to have a third term of Doyle and his policies, they should elect Mary Burke. But if voters, like me and others in the state were concerned four years ago that we were losing jobs, losing businesses, and losing opportunity in the state, then they should stick with us going forward," said Walker.

A new political advertisement rolling out this week will reflect the job growth under Walker's governorship. According to a Walker representative, the people featured in the advertisements are all "real people who have gotten a new job during the governor's term," the Journal Sentinel reported Monday, Aug. 11.