Governor Walker makes stops in Iowa Friday as he gears up for first presidential debate



IOWA -- Governor Scott Walker was in Iowa Friday, July 31st as he continues to campaign for president. The first presidential debate is one week away.

Walker's first stop Friday was "Tom and Tiff's Family Restaurant" in Glenwood, Iowa. He later stopped by the Firehouse Restaurant in Red Oak, Iowa.

Walker spent his early years in Plainfield, Iowa, where his father served as pastor of a local church. The family moved to Delavan, Wisconsin in 1977 when Walker's father was called to pastor a church there.

Walker currently leads polls in the Hawkeye State. He has a 73% approval rating among Iowa Republicans, and he's leading rivals by as much as 10 points.

However, in the national polls, Donald Trump still holds a commanding lead. The latest numbers show Trump tops the field with 20% among 17 presidential candidates.

Walker trails by four points, with 13%.

Also released Friday -- fundraising numbers for Walker's campaign.

New federal filings show a super PAC supporting Walker's bid for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination has raised a little more than $20 million over the first 11 weeks or so of its existence.

Filings released Friday show Unintimidated PAC raised $20.02 million between April 16, when Walker's former campaign managers formed it, and June 30. The filings show Beloit billionaire Diane Hendricks gave the PAC $5 million. The Ricketts family, which owns the Chicago Cubs, gave the PAC another $5 million.

Super PACs are political committees that operate independently of candidates and can't coordinate strategy with their campaigns. But they often play an outsized role in shaping how voters view the candidates because they can buy so much more advertising than the campaigns can afford.

Governor Walker will be one of the top 10 Republicans meeting for the first Republican presidential debate of the 2016 election cycle. That's taking place next Thursday, August 6th in Cleveland, Ohio.