'Incapable of understanding the reality': Scott Walker’s meltdown about Gen Z voters blows up in his face

Maya Boddie, Alternet
April 07, 2023

Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin speaking at the 2013 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland (Gage Skidmore/Flickr)


Former Wisconsin Governor, Scott Walker (R), recently suggested Republicans are losing significant elections because of Generation Z voters and "years of radical indoctrination," Media Matters for America reports.

During a Thursday, April 6, interview with Fox News, host Trace Gallagher asked the former governor, "The Wall Street Journal says the following here, 'the left wins big in the midwest elections.' Quoting again, 'Progressives had a banner day in the midwest Tuesday with victories for Chicago mayor and a swing seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The results will energize the left within the Democratic party and the badger state results are a five-alarm warning to Republicans about 2024.' Is it? We said this before in the intro. Is this a five-alarm fire for the Republicans?"

Walker replied, "To me the larger issue here, we've seen it particularly in Wisconsin but across the country, is younger voters. In Wisconsin, last fall, we saw about a 40-point margin that younger voters gave to the Democrats running for senate and governor. We saw similar margins in Pennsylvania."

Reiterating his point, the GOPer tweeted a clip from the interview, writing, "Younger voters are the issue. It comes from years of radical indoctrination - on campus, in school, with social media, & throughout culture. We have to counter it or conservatives will never win battleground states again."

During the interview, he insisted, "Part of the reason why you have John Fetterman in the U.S. Senate in Arizona and Georgia and elsewhere. And just this week in Wisconsin, we don't yet know the numbers by age, but we do know that Dane County, which is where the University of Wisconsin's flagship campus is at, about 50,000 students are enrolled there, Dane County cast more ballots in the race for the Supreme Court than the largest county in the state, Milwaukee County. And in Dane County, 82% of those votes went for the radical. So unless we turn young people around -- and it's not as simple as one campaign ad or some sort of a coalition. This is years of liberal indoctrination coming home to roost. And we've got to turn it around if we're gonna win again."

The Hill reports, "Generation Z voters overwhelmingly align with Democrats on issues like gun control, abortion, climate change, and LGBTQ issues, posing a challenge for the GOP as it looks to appeal to the younger demographic," adding, "Seventy-seven percent of Generation Z voters said they voted for a Democratic candidate for Congress, compared to only 21 percent who said they voted for a Republican, according to a Pew Research study released late last year."

Walker added, "I can't blame a lot on this generation. Because all they've heard are radical ideas and climate change and defunding the police, on abortion, and all these sorts of other issues. And so they have never heard the opposing viewpoint. And so if that's all they hear in college and high school and social media and culture, you can see why they've gone so lock step in that regard. We've got to turn that around."

The former governor's comments backfired significantly on social media.

@GoodPoliticGuy: "Republicans are incapable of understanding the reality of how their economic and political agenda has f**ked my generation. It's not indoctrination, it's capitalism and corruption."

@AOC: "If your assessment is that it's 'radical indoctrination' to not want some creepy legislator to control one's uterus, your problems are way bigger than voting. You will never win the argument that you should have more power over a woman's body than she does. That's a promise."

Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta: "'Young voters are the issue.' This is giving real Scooby-Doo villain energy. We would have gotten away with it without those meddling kids."

Heather Cox Richardson: "Did it ever occur to you that your people are the ones who have been indoctrinated with a false and radical worldview by right-wing media, while younger Americans are seeing the world for what it really is?"

Neil Hopkins: "Our policies suck and are super unpopular to educated young people - so we should get rid of education and stop young people from voting."


Kelly AuCoin: "Maybe they're sick of people like you poisoning the Earth they'll have to live on long after you’re gone. Maybe they'd rather not be shot in school. Maybe they reject your religious indoctrination. Maybe they want control over their own bodies. Maybe it’s you, Scott."

Mitch Dyer: "Young people participating in democracy is a problem for you huh"

Bradley P. Moss: "It can't be that they hate your policies. No, it has to be indoctrination."

Olivia Julianna: "Hey @ScottWalker my American Dream is being your worst nightmare. There are MILLIONS of young people exactly like me. I hope that fact haunts your every waking moment."