Politico: “Several senior Republicans with knowledge of his campaign said the 47-year-old Walker… was simply too confident in his own abilities and often acted, ineptly, as his own campaign manager.”

“Walker’s campaign had been imploding for weeks, but his public low point — and one that made him vulnerable to charges of weakness — was his stumbling response to the birthright citizenship proposal, a quixotic bid to challenge the 14th Amendment guarantee that all people born in the U.S. be given citizenship rights. Over the course of seven days in August, Walker rattled out no fewer than three positions — a call to challenge the amendment, a solid “no” when asked if he planned to challenge existing laws, and a call for the status quo.”

Gov. Scott Walker’s loyalists “are already talking up the possibility that if chaos continues to reign in the race, Walker could come back and win the Republican nomination from the convention floor next summer,” BuzzFeed News reports.

“Two Republican strategists with ties to Wisconsin told BuzzFeed News that Walker’s allies have been floating the prospect in political circles. And a fundraiser for Walker, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that while he doesn’t know if the governor himself is behind the buzz, ‘with this campaign season, nothing would surprise me.'”

“I encourage other Republican presidential candidates to consider doing the same, so that the voters can focus on a limited number of candidates who can offer a positive conservative alternative to the current front-runner.”

— Gov. Scott Walker, quoted by the New York Times, suggesting other GOP candidates drop their White House bids as he did.

“As Scott Walker’s presidential bid founders, some in the candidate’s orbit are participating in a whisper campaign against his top strategist and campaign manager, Rick Wiley,” BuzzFeed News reports.

“A number of Walker’s donors and supporters have been circulating a rumor about Wiley in recent days, apparently aimed at discrediting him and bringing about a shakeup in the organization, according to two Republican sources. The sources, neither of whom is affiliated with a presidential campaign, said they heard the rumor from people in Walker’s camp. They also said an anonymous letter about Wiley is circulating in political and donor circles, though it is unclear where it originated.”

Gov. Scott Walker — “who has tumbled from top-tier status amid tepid debate performances and other missteps — will pull back from other early-voting states in favor of a heavy focus on Iowa, where he once led the field and has strong roots as a Midwesterner,” the Washington Post reports.

“The Wisconsin governor also faces growing pressure from some financial backers to make staffing changes in an attempt to turn around his campaign. But in a brief interview… Walker said he had just completed a conference call with about 80 major donors — none of whom mentioned wanting staff changes.”

“Scott Walker needs to reassure his supporters and his donors. And Wednesday’s debate might be his last chance,” Politico reports.

“After a sleepy performance in the first Republican presidential debate that fueled a steep slide in his standing with voters, the governor’s team has pushed him to prepare. Round Two will be different, according to sources inside Walker’s camp.”

Gov. Scott Walker will propose changes to federal labor law making it illegal for federal workers to form unions, the AP reports.

Walker would also “eliminate the National Labor Relations Board, transferring some of its powers to the National Mediation Board and leaving what Walker calls its ‘quasi-judicial functions’ to the federal court system.”

Gov. Scott Walker “has canceled two speeches he was scheduled to give next weekend in Michigan and California so that he can instead spend time meeting voters in South Carolina and Iowa,” the Washington Post reports.

“Walker has steadily fallen in early polls, worrying his fundraisers, donors and prominent supporters. When the Wisconsin governor launched his presidential campaign in mid-July, he was considered one of the top-tier candidates and seemed on track to win the Iowa caucuses. Now he is registering single-digit support and trying desperately to jump-start his campaign.”

Politico: “Walker’s standing in Iowa has disintegrated, and he can’t blame Donald Trump.”

Washington Post: “Walker’s backers see a campaign discombobulated by Trump’s booming popularity and by his provocative language on immigration, China and other issues. They see in Walker a candidate who — in contrast to the discipline he showed in state races — continues to commit unforced errors, either out of lack of preparation or in an attempt to grab for part of the flamboyant businessman’s following.”

“These supporters say what is needed now is a return to basics, a more disciplined focus on the issues Walker long has championed in Wisconsin. They say there also needs to be a clear acknowledgment inside the campaign that the governor has yet to put to rest questions about his readiness to handle the problems and unexpected challenges that confront every president.”

“Scott Walker has sought to reassure jittery donors and other supporters this week that he can turn around a swift decline in the polls in Iowa and elsewhere by going on the attack and emphasizing his conservatism on key issues,” the Washington Post reports.

“In a conference call, one-on-one conversations and at a Tuesday lunch, the Wisconsin governor and favorite of anti-union conservatives told backers that his campaign is shifting to a more aggressive posture and will seek to tap into the anti-establishment fervor fueling the rise of Donald Trump and other outsider candidates.”

Washington Post: “Maybe it should have been a tip-off that the two 20-somethings were so overly excited to meet Scott Walker. Like dramatically excited. The young woman was literally bouncing with excitement. And the young man had a homemade sign declaring that the Republican governor should become president.”

“As Scott Walker smiled and put his arms around Tyler McFarland, 23, and Giselle Hart, 20, the sign flipped. Suddenly Walker was posing with a fake, game-show-style check made out to him from the billionaire Koch brothers, Charles Koch and David Koch, who plan to spend $889 million on the upcoming election.”

New financial disclosures show that Gov. Scott Walker has two credit-card debts of more than $10,000 apiece on separate cards and is paying an eye-popping 27.24 percent interest rate on one of them, National Journal reports.

“The Republican presidential candidate has cast himself as both a fiscal conservative leader and a penny-pinching everyman on the campaign trail, often touting his love of Kohl’s, the discount department store. His newly published financial disclosure shows that, like many Americans, Walker has few assets, some major debts (including more than $100,000 for student loans for his children), and a punishing interest rate on his credit-card obligations.”