At #49, WI's Economy Still Outperforms...Wyoming

Can someone please explain to me how Scott Walker could be taken seriously in Iowa - - let alone in Iola - - with business news like this?

Wisconsin’s six-month economic forecast ranks 49th in the nation, according to the latest state-by-state analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.... 

Wisconsin’s coincident growth index stands at -0.74 percent. Wyoming is the only state with a lower projection.  

The projections take into account several variables, including state housing permits, state initial unemployment claims and delivery times from the Institute for Supply Management manufacturing surveys.