After taking down the unions and surviving a couple massive attacks by the Left, he is a valid choice for Conservatives to take kindly to.
No—Walker’s an open borders guy!
Also, Walker had no idea his union move would be controversial, having seen Mitch Daniels do something similar with little backlash. Then, like the career bureaucrat/pol that he is, he merely held on for his political life. That doesn’t make him a hero.