On Heels of State of State Address, Expert Grades 2015 Speech Proposals

Many analysts said Governor Scott Walker's 2015 State of the State address helped set the stage for his presidential run.

It also included several state policy pieces -- which experts say he mostly followed through on.

UW-Milwaukee political science expert Mordecai Lee took a look at walker's 2015 State of the State speech, and graded it.

Lee gives Walker some high marks; an 'A' for sticking to the promise of not raising taxes, and cutting state spending.

Lee said, "On the administrative level he really didn't accomplish a lot."  Lee said Walker gets a ‘B-‘ for following through on specific policy items laid out in the 2015 speech.

"He had talked about merging WHEDA [Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority] with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, that didn't happen. He talked about merging some of the cabinet departments, like professional services and financial institutions, that didn't happen." Lee said.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) says those are things he wasn't ready to push forward with.

"I didn't want to rush in and merge two agencies until we had a fully thought-out plan and that hopefully is what governor walker is putting together so perhaps we consider it sometime in the next budget." Vos said.

Lee says Walker's presidential run hurt his appeal among some people in Wisconsin, but sees Tuesday night's speech as a way for Walker to reboot his political career, and his standing as Wisconsin’s governor.

"When he ran for president, it's almost like he came out of the political closet. It's almost like he became a different person publicly." Lee said.