Presidential races

Scott Walker opens Iowa office

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) has opened an office in Iowa, making him the first potential 2016 contender to set up shop in the first-in-the-nation caucus state.

The Hill confirmed Tuesday that Walker’s political organization, Our American Revival, had leased a space in the city of Urbandale, just west of Des Moines. The Des Moines Register first reported the news. 

{mosads}The same office space was used in past presidential campaigns by former Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the newspaper noted. 

Walker has moved quickly in recent weeks toward launching a White House bid, propelled by a speech last month at Rep. Steve King’s (R-Iowa) Freedom Summit that electrified conservatives. 

Since the speech, Walker has hired two former staffers for Romney’s 2008 presidential run and was the top choice among Iowa GOP voters in a Des Moines Register poll released recently. 

Activists pushing for Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and neurosurgeon Ben Carson to launch presidential bids also have space in Iowa, according to The Des Moines Register.

This post was updated at 4:47 p.m.