Saturday, April 7, 2007
Fred Thompson Starts Campaign Effort
Former Sen. Fred Thompson has begun assembling the core of a campaign team in preparation for a possible run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008.
While the "Law & Order” actor has not decided whether he will run or not, "he is getting more serious every day,” an adviser told The Politico.
"He is now starting to talk to people to really calibrate what it would take to run a successful campaign. He’s talking to some of the top unaligned strategists and fund-raisers.”
Thompson – who did not seek re-election as a senator from Tennessee in 2002 – has also met with major Republican players who work for other presidential campaigns, sources told The Politico.
Thompson placed third among Republicans in a recent USA Today/Gallup poll, garnering 12 percent of the vote behind former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Sen. John McCain from Arizona. It was the first Gallup poll taken after Thompson announced on March 11 that he may run for the White House.
Advisers say Thompson has been encouraged by the response at a time when many conservative Republicans are unhappy with the GOP front-runners for 2008.
Syndicated columnist Robert D. Novak said last week that Thompson is "the talk of GOP political circles.”
Former Sen. Fred Thompson has begun assembling the core of a campaign team in preparation for a possible run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008.
While the "Law & Order” actor has not decided whether he will run or not, "he is getting more serious every day,” an adviser told The Politico.
"He is now starting to talk to people to really calibrate what it would take to run a successful campaign. He’s talking to some of the top unaligned strategists and fund-raisers.”
Thompson – who did not seek re-election as a senator from Tennessee in 2002 – has also met with major Republican players who work for other presidential campaigns, sources told The Politico.
Thompson placed third among Republicans in a recent USA Today/Gallup poll, garnering 12 percent of the vote behind former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Sen. John McCain from Arizona. It was the first Gallup poll taken after Thompson announced on March 11 that he may run for the White House.
Advisers say Thompson has been encouraged by the response at a time when many conservative Republicans are unhappy with the GOP front-runners for 2008.
Syndicated columnist Robert D. Novak said last week that Thompson is "the talk of GOP political circles.”
