Concord , New Hampshire ( CNN ) Scott Walker brought his Midwestern swagger to New Hampshire on Saturday , leading a crowd of activists to cheers as he sought to draw a contrast to his top-tier rival in the unofficial GOP presidential race , Jeb Bush . The Wisconsin governor , amid charges from critics that he 's a flip-flopper , also acknowledged that he had changed positions on immigration reform but argued that he 's remained consistent in everything else . Walker was met with great fanfare at his only open event during his two-day stop to the first-in-the-nation primary state . Activists gathered at Concord High School for a training event that was hosted by the New Hampshire GOP and headlined by Walker 's appearance . Jeb Bush makes 2016 debut in New Hampshire . The contrasts made against Bush were subtle , but Walker emphasized his modest roots as the son of a preacher and reiterated his penchant for shopping at Kohl 's while armed with coupons . `` I actually stopped by Kohl 's and bought this sweater in the rack where it 's 70 % off , '' he said , pointing to the sweater he was wearing . `` And we paid one dollar for it with our Kohl 's Cash ... so , living the high life , '' he added . Walker has used his humble beginnings and department-store bona fides in Iowa as well , a strategy aimed to cement the fact that he did n't grow up with `` fame and fortune , '' as he frequently says . On Saturday , he also put on a cap handed to him by an audience member with the logo for Gun Owners of New Hampshire . `` You 've got a first-rate record on the Second Amendment ; we hope you 'll wear the hat often and keep up the good work , '' the man said . Walker wore it for the rest of his time on stage . ( While he may have donned the cap-and-sweater look Saturday afternoon , he was set to sport a tux later that night for his speaking appearance at the Gridiron Club 's annual white-tie dinner in Washington , D.C. President Barack Obama was also scheduled to speak at the dinner . ) Answering a question from another audience member , Walker laid down his staunch opposition to Common Core , a set of testing standards that Bush defended as usual during his visit to New Hampshire on Friday . Walker also stood against re-authorizing the No Child Left Behind Act , another topic on which the two Republicans disagree . Those comments came after Walker argued , in an interview with the Tampa Bay Times on Friday , that Bush would represent a step towards the past , rather than the future . `` We had Bob Dole , John McCain , Mitt Romney . If it 's just whoever 's next up , that has n't worked so well for the Republican Party in the past , '' he said . `` Jeb 's a good man . You 're not going to hear me speak ill will of Jeb ... I just think voters are going to look at this and say , 'If we 're running against Hillary Clinton , we 'll need a name from the future -- not a name from the past -- to win . ' `` In his remarks Saturday , Walker also hit the President over foreign policy and took a shot at Hillary Clinton for giving `` Russia a reset button . '' On domestic policy , he laid out his small-government vision for a system in which success is measured by `` how many people are no longer dependent on the government . '' Asked by reporters Saturday to respond to flip-flopping accusations by his critics , Walker said the `` the only major issue out there was immigration . '' Indeed Walker reversed his stance earlier this month when he acknowledged that he 's no longer in favor of legislation that would let undocumented immigrants remain in the United States . He said Saturday that his change in tune reflected the will of the public . `` This is one where we listened to the people all across the country , particularly border governors who saw how this President messed that up , and that 's an issue where I think people want leaders who are willing to listen to the people on that , '' he said . Any other accusations of flip-flopping , he added , `` are just ridiculous . '' Critics have argued that Walker has been taking a tougher line against abortion in an effort to woo conservatives during the primaries . The governor recently expressed support for a ban on abortion after 20 weeks , after first declining to state his position during his re-election bid in the fall . And critics point to an ad by his campaign in which Walker said he supports legislation that leaves `` the final decision to a woman and her doctor . '' Walker said Saturday he 's remained steady in his views on abortion . `` I 'm pro-life . My position is consistent on that , '' he said . `` They 're taking an ad out there that talked about what the law did in the state ( that ) was endorsed by Wisconsin Right to Life , so it 's a pro-life law . '' He also defended his support for the federal ethanol mandate that helps Iowa farmers , despite opposing it in Wisconsin in the past . Walker 's more private itinerary included meetings with New Hampshire business and political leaders , including Massachusetts ' former senator , Scott Brown , who resides in New Hampshire and ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate seat in the state last year .
The Wisconsin governor is on a two-day stop in the first-in-the-nation primary state . Walker emphasizes his modest roots , talks of shopping with coupons .