The already crowded Republican presidential field in the 2016 White House race grew by one more name on Monday as Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker announced his presidential run.

The 47 year old, widely known for his battles with his state's unions over collective bargaining rights in 2012, claimed in a video statement he was the only GOP contender whose track record proves the successful streamlining of the government.

"America needs new, fresh leadership with big, bold ideas from outside of Washington to actually get things done," the governor said. "In Wisconsin, we didn't nibble around the edges. We enacted big, bold reforms that took power out of the hands of the big government special interests and gave it to the hard-working taxpayers, and people's lives are better because of it."

Walker's "ability to command a crowd" had sometimes been cast into doubt, but he has silenced critics with a fiery speech at January's conservative Freedom Summit in Iowa, the first major candidate showcase in the crucial early caucus state, MSNBC noted.

"I think that sends a powerful message to Republicans in Washington and around the country -- if you're not afraid to go big and go bold, you can actually get results," Walker said at the time, MSNBC recalled. "And if you get the job done the voters will actually stand up with you."

In his announcement, the Colorado Springs native renewed that message, suggesting GOP primary voters should look beyond ideology and charisma and consider candidates' record. In Wisconsin, "We fought and won," he said, according to the Hill. "In the Republican field, there are some who are good fighters, but they haven't won those battles."

Craig Schoenfeld, who ran Newt Gingrich's Iowa campaign in 2012, told MSNBC that the candidate now needs to ready for scrutiny.

"[Walker] plays well to a variety of different Republican constituencies and haven't seen anything that would have turned any one group off of him yet," Schoenfeld said.

Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, a federation representing 56 unions, issued a full statement on Walker's entry, stating, "Scott Walker is a national disgrace."

"Scott Walker has proven himself to be a terrible governor of Wisconsin, and a Walker presidency would be even worse for Latinos and for our nation as a whole," said civil rights activist Dolores Huerta, board member for People for the American Way organization.

Huerta added, "As governor, he gutted education funding, lied to voters about his anti-choice stances, and attacked workers' rights. Now he's staked out a far-right position on immigration. He wants to restrict even legal immigration and opposes any path to legalization for undocumented immigrants, much less citizenship. Allowing him to bring his extreme agenda to the Oval Office would be devastating."

Meanwhile, the Republican field might get even tighter as Ohio Gov. John Kasich and former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore are also expected to announce their presidential bids soon.