WASHINGTON—Scott Walker and Rick Perry entered the 2016 presidential race with a combined 18 years of experience as governors. They exited the Republican primary— the first candidates to do so—with negligible support and dwindling bank accounts.
While Walker and Perry were both flawed candidates, their swift demise is a warning to others who hope to win the White House on the strength of their political résumés. And it leaves the governors and senators still in the turbulent Republican race scrambling to adapt to a political environment that is rewarding those with the least governing experience.
The country is very unhappy now, and a winning candidate must be viewed as a change agent.
