Scott Walker First GOP Hopeful to Open Iowa Office

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is the first Republican to open an office in Iowa.

According to The Des Moines Register, a “political organization created by Walker, the governor of Wisconsin, has leased the space at 2775 86th St. in Urbandale – an office with a storied Republican political history.”

The strip-mall storefront, located behind a Panera Bread cafe, has been occupied over the years by campaigns for Terry Branstad for governor, Tom Latham for Congress, Bill Northey for agriculture secretary and other Iowa races as part of GOP Victory efforts. In 2012, it headquartered Michele Bachmann’s team for the Iowa caucuses and Mitt Romney’s general election campaign. It was John McCain and Sarah Palin’s Midwest regional campaign headquarters in 2008.

Walker delivered what many thought was a breakout speech at the Iowa Freedom Summit and he’s currently leading Iowa presidential polling.

This is the first location directly connected to a potential contender, although Walker’s Our American Revival says for now that the organization is about transferring power out of Washington and back to the states and the people, not a White House campaign. The new office here is meant “to engage with the citizens of Iowa,” an adviser said.