CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is concluding his first week as a presidential candidate with a ten-county tour of Iowa. Walker held a town hall event in Cedar Rapids Friday afternoon and began with a prayer for the marines murdered in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Thursday.

The governor said he learned one of the dead marines was from Wisconsin just before coming to town, and called radical Islamic terrorism a "virus" that is increasingly spreading into the U.S.

He also mentioned his personal connection to Iowa, having lived in the state from 1970 to 1977, and said his brother — who was born in this state — would join him in Iowa later on Friday. He emphasized his history winning tough fights in Wisconsin as evidence that he could succeed in this state and others throughout the Midwest.

"We know how to win a battleground state like Iowa," Walker said. "If we can do it [in Wisconsin] we can do it anywhere, certainly in our nation's capital."

He emphasized that his record as a fighter and a winner is what separates him from the other GOP presidential candidates.

The standing-room-only crowd packed into the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art to get a glimpse of the newly minted presidential candidate asked a wide range of questions including education, jobs, and the reforms he sought. Walker talked about his desire to implement entitlement reform and said, "I'm not going to touch your Social Security."

The governor will be one of several presidential candidates in Ames on Saturday for an event held by the Family Leader, a social conservative organization. The group is holding its annual Family Leadership summit near Iowa State University's campus tomorrow.

When the weekend has ended, Walker will have visited 16 cities in six states since announcing his presidential campaign, according to his campaign. While this week's campaign stops have come in states featuring early nominating contests, Walker will broaden his country to include both the east and west coasts next week.