Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker slammed his opponents Monday for pushing a recall election in his state, calling it a "distraction and "frivolous" waste of government funds.
"It's a huge distraction not just for me, but the legislature. It's $9 million of taxpayer money just to run this," said Walker on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." "Think about the number of kids, think of the number of seniors we could help in our state with $9 million we didn't have to waste on this frivolous recall election."
Walker blamed "out-of-state special interests" for spending "tens of millions" to push him out of office.
Even so, the governor said he was committed to again winning the support of a majority of his state's voters.
"I had to work hard to earn the trust of the majority in my state two years ago, and I'm going to have to work even harder to renew that trust with a majority of voters," said Walker.
The Wisconsin governor has little in common with President Barack Obama, but argued that an improving economy would bode well for both of them in terms of their electoral chances.
"I think anytime the economy is showing signs of relief, it's probably of some benefit to any incumbent, whether it's me, whether it's a local official, or even the president. And in the end, that's something I and the president will have to discuss in our campaigns in 2012," said Walker, noting that the unemployment rate is the lowest it has been since 2008.
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