Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey

Joe Walsh presidential campaign, 2020

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search


2020 Presidential Election
Date: November 3, 2020
Presidential candidates
Republican Party Donald Trump
Democratic Party Joe Biden
Green Party Howie Hawkins
Libertarian Party Jo Jorgensen
Overviews
Candidates on the issues • Battleground states • Electoral College • Pivot Counties
Debates
September 29 debate • October 7 debate • October 15 debate • October 22 debate • Democratic debates
Primaries
Democratic • Republican • Libertarian • Green • Constitution
Presidential election changes in response to the coronavirus pandemic
Ballotpedia's presidential election coverage
2028 • 2024 • 2020 • 2016

Joe Walsh suspended his presidential campaign on February 7, 2020.


“ Donald Trump doesn’t represent us—he represents the worst of us. He hasn’t delivered on his promises, he thinks he’s above the law, and he’s tweeting us into a recession, as we speak. You know it, I know it, we all know it: We can’t afford four more years of Donald Trump. No way.[1] ”
—Joe Walsh[2]


Joe Walsh is a former Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois. He announced on August 25, 2019, that he was running for president.[3] He suspended his presidential campaign on February 7, 2020.[4]

Walsh focused his campaign on his disagreements with President Donald Trump's policies, including the 2017 omnibus spending bill, Chinese tariffs, and use of executive power.

Walsh served in the U.S. House from 2011 to 2013. After his time in Congress, he hosted a talk radio program.

Election results

Iowa caucus

Iowa Republican presidential caucus on February 3, 2020
 
Candidate
%
Votes
Pledged delegates
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/473px-Official_Portrait_of_President_Donald_Trump.jpg
Donald Trump
 
97.1
 
31,464 39
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/Bill_Weld_campaign_portrait.jpg
Bill Weld
 
1.3
 
426 1
Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/Joe_Walsh.jpg
Joe Walsh
 
1.1
 
348 0
  Other
 
0.5
 
151 0

 Source

Total votes: 32,389 • Total pledged delegates: 40

Walsh in the news

See also: Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing and Editorial approach to story selection for the Daily Presidential News Briefing

This section featured five news stories about Walsh and his presidential campaign. For a complete timeline of Walsh's campaign activity, click here.



Biography

Walsh was born in 1961 in North Barrington, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. He earned his bachelor's in English from the University of Iowa in 1985. After graduation, Walsh studied acting, and then earned a master's in public policy from the University of Chicago in 1991.[5]

Walsh worked as a community college teacher, fundraiser, and researcher for private foundations and advocacy groups, including Americans for Limited Government, the United Republican Fund, and the John and Kathleen Buck Family Foundation.[6]

He first ran for elected office in 1996, when he challenged Rep. Sidney Yates (D) for U.S. House.[6]

Walsh defeated Melissa Bean (D) to represent Illinois' 8th Congressional District in 2010 as part of the wave election that saw 63 seats change hands from Democrats to Republicans. Walsh lost his re-election bid in 2012 to Tammy Duckworth (D).[6]

Following his exit from Congress, Walsh launched The Joe Walsh Show, a conservative talk radio show. It debuted on WIND Chicago in March 2013, and began receiving syndication in other major U.S. cities by early 2014. In February 2017, it was picked up for national syndication by the Salem Radio Network, and became part of Newsmax TV in May 2018.[7][8]

Campaign staff

See also: Joe Walsh presidential campaign staff, 2020, Presidential election key staffers, 2020, and Presidential campaign managers, 2020

The table below shows a sampling of the candidate's 2020 national campaign staff members, including the campaign manager and some senior advisors, political directors, communication directors, and field directors. It also includes each staff member's position in the campaign, previous work experience, and Twitter handle, where available.[9] For a larger list of national campaign staff, visit Democracy in Action.

Donald Trump presidential campaign national staff, 2020
Staff Position Prior experience Twitter handle
Lucy Caldwell Campaign manager Founder, Mockingbird Lab @lucymcaldwell



Satellite spending

Satellite spending, commonly referred to as outside spending, describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.[10][11][12]

This section lists satellite spending in this race reported by news outlets in alphabetical order. If you are aware of spending that should be included, please email us.

Campaign advertisements

This section shows a sampling of advertisements released to support or oppose this candidate in the 2020 presidential election.

"Be Brave" - Walsh campaign, August 25, 2019

Policy positions

The following policy positions were compiled from the candidate's official campaign website, editorials, speeches, and interviews.

Immigration

In an interview on PBS, Joe Walsh said, "The situation at our border now is a bigger mess than it was when he got elected. Why is that? Because all he talked about, Judy, was this wall, wall, wall, wall, and Mexico's going to pay for it. He hasn't done anything at the border. We have a humane crisis right now at our border, people coming to claim asylum. That has nothing to do with a wall. Certainly, anybody trying to come into the country illegally, I would be tougher. And then so that's the second piece. People coming into the country illegally, there's got to be no exception. But people coming here to claim asylum, which is a legal thing to do, totally different group of people. And those people right now — and that's our biggest crisis at the border right now — those people have to be dealt with humanely, and as quickly as we can deal with their asylum claims. Again, anybody around the world has the right to come here and claim asylum, OK? It's our responsibility — this is a fundamental difference, Judy, with me and the president. It's our responsibility to hear those claims. Now, we do a lousy job now of doing that. We have got to devote the resources to do — deal with those a lot quicker." [source, as of 2019-08-27]

Healthcare

Joe Walsh said in a debate, "There is no more important issue in this country than this. We've got the American people living longer and longer and longer. That's a good thing. But how we pay for the health care for all of these Americans living longer and longer and longer. Neither the Republican Party or the Democrat Party want to talk about that. And you've got Democrats out there again well-meaning Democrats saying Medicare for all. Just have the government do everything. And then you've got Republicans out there Anthony saying. Nothing. Because they're afraid to talk about health care. It would be the issue I'd want to lead a discussion on."

He continued, "We have to take care of and make sure that people in need in this country and those people with chronic health care conditions are always taken care of and never have to worry about their health care needs the rest of the American people need to begin paying for the day to day health care costs and then look at things like universal catastrophic care coverage." [source, as of 2019-09-24]

Energy and environmental issues

In an interview on PBS, Joe Walsh said, "The first big step, Judy, is my party, the Republican Party, has to acknowledge it's an issue, it's a problem. This president won't. And, in fact, I don't even think he understands the issue. So it would be an issue, I think, the Republican Party needs to get on board with and lead on. The first step is for a Republican president to acknowledge it's a problem, man is contributing to the problem. And then let's bring all the important people together, including business and businesses, and figure out things that need to be done. But before we do anything to impact the American economy, we have got — we have got to make sure we have got the accurate data." [source, as of 2019-08-27]

Trade

In an op-ed about Donald Trump published in The New York Times, Walsh wrote, "He abuses the Constitution for his narcissistic trade war. In private, most congressional Republicans oppose the trade war, but they don’t say anything publicly. But think about this: Mr. Trump’s tariffs are a tax increase on middle-class Americans and are devastating to our farmers" [source, as of 2019-08-14]

Economy

Joe Walsh's campaign website does not include a statement outlining his position on the economy. [source, as of 2019-08-30]

Education

Joe Walsh's campaign website does not include a statement outlining his position on education. [source, as of 2019-08-30]

Gun regulation

In an appearance on The Joe Show, Joe Walsh said, "It ain't guns. It ain't guns. It's not the gun, it's not the bomb. It's not the white van or the pickup truck, it's not the knife. It's the ideology behind the gun, it's the ideology behind the bomb. It's the evil that pulls the trigger, it's the evil that stabs the knife. You want to do something about this, America? You're tired of this, right? You're tired of these headlines? I sure am. Well then, quit focusing on guns. Focus on the ideology behind the guns. But you focus on the guns. These two killers this weekend, they both passed comprehensive background checks, so don't talk background checks to me. You want to get serious? Talk about mental health. Talk about the evil and the ideology that did what they did this weekend." [source, as of 2019-08-05]

Criminal justice

Joe Walsh's campaign website does not include a statement outlining his position on criminal justice. [source, as of 2019-08-30]

Foreign policy

In an interview on MSNBC, Joe Walsh said, "We've got a president right now who gives a bear-hug, a man hug to Putin and Kim Jong-un and he stiff-arms our allies. I think we need to flip that around a little bit...When you and I were little boys, Russia was the enemy, our own FBI, they were the good guys. Donald Trump has flipped this around. He's disloyal. This will be one of the most dangerous long-term impacts of the Trump administration, how they have declared war on our own intelligence community." When asked whether he felt Russia should be readmitted to the Group of Seven, Walsh continued, "No, and I still think Putin must have something on him. It does not explain Donald Trump's subservient behavior." [source, as of 2019-08-26]

Impeachment

Joe Walsh tweeted, "In 2016, he welcomed & encouraged Russian interference. 5 months the ago, he said he’d take dirt from a foreign government. 2 months ago, he pressured the President of Ukraine to interfere in our 2020 election. He’s disloyal. Of course, Donald Trump deserves to be impeached." [source, as of 2019-09-24]

Other policy positions

Click on any of the following links to read more policy positions from the 2020 presidential candidates.

Abortion

Criminal justice

Economy

Education

Energy and environmental issues

Foreign policy

Gun regulation

Healthcare

Immigration

Impeachment

Labor

Trade


Campaign themes

As of August 26, 2019, Walsh had not published campaign themes on his website. His website contained the following statement about why he was running for president.

“ Hi there,

If you’re reading this, I’m betting it’s because, like me, you’re a brave American and you love this country.

I’m betting you’re tired of having an unfit con man for a president. A president who sides with foreign dictators over our intelligence community. A president who spews hate virtually every time he opens his mouth. A president who is teaching millions of American children it’s okay to lie and it’s okay to bully.

See, Donald Trump doesn’t represent us—he represents the worst of us. He hasn’t delivered on his promises, he thinks he’s above the law, and he’s tweeting us into a recession, as we speak.

You know it, I know it, we all know it: We can’t afford four more years of Donald Trump. No way.

That’s why I’m running for President, and that’s why I need your help. It’s not going to be easy—Trump’s people are already coming after us—but bravery is never easy.

Anything you can give helps. So let’s make a statement. Join me…join us. Tell the world you’re ready to be brave.[1]

”
—Joe Walsh[13]

Archive of Political Emails

The Archive of Political Emails was founded in July 2019 to compile political fundraising and advocacy emails sent by candidates, elected officials, PACs, nonprofits, NGOs, and other political actors.[14] The archive includes screenshots and searchable text from emails sent by 2020 presidential candidates. To review the Walsh campaign's emails, click here.

Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing

See also: Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing

The following section provides a timeline of Walsh's campaign activity beginning in January 2019. The entries, which come from Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing, are sorted by month in reverse chronological order.


See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  2. ↑ Joe Walsh, "Home," accessed September 6, 2019
  3. ↑ CNN, "Joe Walsh to take on Trump in 2020 Republican primary," August 25, 2019
  4. ↑ Twitter, "Joe Walsh on February 7, 2020," accessed February 7, 2020
  5. ↑ Chicago Tribune, "Who is Joe Walsh? Meet the controversial radio host and former Illinois congressman challenging Trump in 2020," August 25, 2019
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Chicago Tribune, "Joe Walsh's unlikely road to D.C." August 17, 2011
  7. ↑ Talkers, "Wednesday, February 8, 2017," accessed August 26, 2019
  8. ↑ Newsmax, "'The Joe Walsh Show' Brings a Fresh, Balanced, Conservative Perspective to Newsmax TV," May 7, 2018
  9. ↑ Democracy in Action, "Organization," accessed November 4, 2019
  10. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Outside Spending," accessed September 22, 2015
  11. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Total Outside Spending by Election Cycle, All Groups," accessed September 22, 2015
  12. ↑ National Review.com, "Why the Media Hate Super PACs," November 6, 2015
  13. ↑ Joe Walsh, "Official campaign website," accessed August 26, 2019
  14. ↑ Archive of Political Emails, "About," accessed September 16, 2019
v • e
2020 United States presidential election
OverviewsPresidential Elections-2016-badge.png
Primaries and election dates
Democratic nomination
Democratic debates
Republican nomination
Issues


Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Joe_Walsh_presidential_campaign,_2020&oldid=9944328"