Could Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker make a serious run at the Republican 2016 presidential nomination? Recent NBC News/Marist polls show the governor close to the top in three states that have critical early primaries and caucuses: Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.

Walker and the current GOP frontrunner, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, are the only candidates to place that high in all three polls, according to a WBAY.com report.

The next few months will be critical as the national public gets a closer look at Walker, as they are not as familiar with him as they are with Jeb Bush and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. If he can place strongly in the early primaries and caucuses in those states, it could create huge momentum that could make or break his campaign.

However, just because Walker is doing well now doesn’t mean he’ll be doing well when the time comes to vote in those primaries and caucuses. Rising stars in the GOP, such as Tim Pawlenty and Rick Perry, have quickly fallen out of favor before, according to the report.

Of course, it will take a lot of work to defeat Jeb Bush even if Walker can sail past the other candidates. Bush is likely to be the first Republican to raise more than $100 million by a significant margin, although there is some question on whether he is actually an appealing candidate to voters.

In order to win, Walker likely will have to consolidate support from conservatives that have currently thrown their weight behind Mike Huckabee, Ben Carson, Rand Paul, and Ted Cruz.

Walker could find success in positioning himself as not quite as moderate as Jeb Bush, something that many conservatives have found irritating and could risk eroding his support.