New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie visits Milwaukee

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Gov. Scott Walker joined forces for a fundraiser in Milwaukee on Thursday, March 14th. It was a $250 a plate lunch. But the most interesting thing on the menu was presidential speculation.

The fundraiser was held at the Wisconsin Club in downtown Milwaukee. Gov. Walker hosted Gov. Christie. Also Thursday, Gov. Walker announced he will give the keynote speech at a fundraiser in Iowa in May.

UW-Milwaukee Professor Mordecai Lee says the Walker speech is a signal Walker is preparing for a presidential bid.

"If you're a presidential candidate, you have to do well in Iowa, you can't skip Iowa," said Lee.

Gov. Walker has side-stepped the question when FOX6 News asked him about a presidential bid late last year.

Mike Lowe: You're in the shadow of the White House, is a presidential run in 2016 in your sights?
Gov. Walker: Ha. I ran too hard to be governor two times in the last two years. I'll stay focused on that.

Christie and Walker are friends. The New Jersey governor campaigned for Walker during the recall election. But the friends may also be rivals in 2016.

"If you've got two ambitious politicians like these two governors, they realize its not personal," said Prof. Lee. "Three years from now is an eternity in politics."

Gov. Walker will speak at CPAC this weekend. It's a conservative conference where the speaking list reads as a who's who of presidential hopefuls. Gov. Christie, who has fallen out of favor with some in the GOP, was not invited.

Protesters outside of the Wisconsin Club demonstrated against Gov. Walker's rejection of federal Medicaid expansion money.