Tommy Thompson 2008 presidential campaign

TOMMY THOMPSON FOR PRESIDENT (TOMMY 2008)
Campaign	U.S. presidential election, 2008
Candidate	Tommy Thompson Governor of Wisconsin (1987-2001) Secretary of Health and Human Services (2001-2005)
Affiliation	Republican Party
Headquarters	Alexandria, VA
Key people	Darrin Schmitz (Director) Rodman Hise (Treasurer) Brian Dumas (Consultant)
Receipts	US$.890398 (2007-06-30)

Former Wisconsin Governor and Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson began his campaign for the Republican nomination for president of the United States on April 1, 2007. Thompson centered his campaign in Iowa, focusing primarily on the issues of Health care and the War in Iraq. He dropped out of the race on August 12, 2007 following a sixth place finish in the Ames straw poll. Thompson went on to endorse Rudy Giuliani for president and then John McCain following Giuliani's withdrawal.

Had he been elected, Thompson would have become the second Roman Catholic president (after John F. Kennedy) and the first Wisconsin-born president. He was the first former Secretary of Health and Human Services to seek the presidency.

Early stages

Beginning in 2006, Thompson spent every weekend in Iowa to build an organization for his potential presidential run. He opened an exploratory committee on November 16, 2006 to test the waters, stating that "The times are right for my ideas." As his eventual entrance neared, Thompson spent additional time in Iowa and announced that his campaign strategy would focus on the state and its nonbinding straw poll held in August.

On the campaign trail

April 2007

Presidential candidate Tommy Thompson

Thompson officially entered the race on April 1, 2007 following the announcement that he would seek the Republican Party's nomination for president during an interview on This Week with George Stephanopoulos. He branded himself as a reliant conservative whose campaign was "looking good" due to the base he attempted to establish in Iowa, which would hold the nation's first caucus in January 2008. His entrance into the race slightly increased voter's recognition of "Thompson" in polls but pollsters stated that this increase was most likely attributed to the exposure of potential candidate Fred Thompson. Upon his entrance, the candidate set forth his position on the War in Iraq, holding that as president, he would allow Iraqis to vote on whether or not the United States military should remain in the nation. He stated that if the Iraqis "don't want us there...we should get out."

Thompson first hit the trails in Iowa. His strategy in the state was to spend more time there than any other candidate, emphasizing that he "intend[ed] to win Iowa" because of his midwest roots. He commented on fiscal responsibility at an event in a Des Moines suburb stating that "Republicans went to Washington and we lost our way" because "we tried to spend [money] like Democrats." He introduced a health care platform that emphasized prevention and called for reforms in the current system to ensure that all Americans be covered in the future. In the financial sphere of the campaign, Thompson acknowledged that he could not compete with funds being raised by the upper-tiered candidates, but he stated that he did not intend to because his campaign was "different" than the others; according to Thompson, his was more centered around a strong ground organization in Iowa.

Thompson was criticized when he stated at a Jewish event that he believed earning money is "part of the Jewish tradition." Later at the event he stated that he was not trying to "imply anything about Jews and finances" but that he was "compliment[ing]" Jews for being "outstanding business people." His spokesman later said that he had "misspoke." Despite this setback, the campaign was given a boost later in the month when columnist George Will wrote in an editorial that Thompson was the "Republican presidential candidate with perhaps the most impressive résumé." He finished April campaigning in Iowa continuing with the strategy he planned.

May 2007

Thompson began May at the first Republican debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California sponsored by MSNBC on May 3. During the debate, he again voiced his support for an Iraqi vote, and included the plan's second phase if the Iraqis chose for American forces to remain in the nation. He stated that the oil revenues could have been split and a system of federalism could have been established. When asked about abortion, Thompson stated that he believed its legalization should be left up to the individual states, disagreeing with the precedent set in Roe v. Wade. He was also given the opportunity to discuss his governorship of Wisconsin, highlighting his record of 1,900 vetoes and the overall cutting of taxes by $16.4 billion. On the subject of taxes, he articulated his support for the option of a flat tax for the taxpayer, if it was to their benefit. At the end of the debate, Thompson differentiated himself from President George W. Bush stating that as president he would "transform the health care system" and settle the situation in Iraq.

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Tommy Thompson during the May 3 GOP Debate

A comment he made during the debate became another campaign issue for Thompson. He again apologized for remarks, this time over an answer to a question in which he stated that he believed the decision to fire a gay worker based on the morals of the employer is something that should be "left up to the individual business." A few days following the debate, the candidate rescinded the comments, and blamed the gaffe on a malfunctioning hearing aid, stating that he "didn't hear the question." Thompson also said that he was sick during the debate, having been hospitalized three days earlier with the flu and bronchitis, and that all he could think about "was getting off the stage." Some individuals harshly criticized the former governor, including the political director of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, Jason Stephany, who rhetorically asked "How many times is he going to say something that's completely offensive to the majority of Americans before people start to say, 'What's going on here?'" Thompson proclaimed that there was "nothing discriminatory about [himself] at all."

Thompson participated in the May 15 GOP debate, where he discussed his insistence to trim bureaucracy in the federal government, and his support for the advancements made in stem cell research, lauding the achievements of the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the field. He was asked what he would do in the event of a looming preemptive attack against a hypothetical anti-American nation promoting terrorism. The candidate quoted former Secretary of State Colin Powell reflecting the need to be sure the intelligence was correct, to deploy the right amount of troops and to make sure that an exit strategy was planned. Following the debate, Thompson campaigned in New Hampshire before taking a break until June.

June 2007

After a day of campaigning in Iowa, Thompson returned to New Hampshire to participate in the June 5 GOP Debate. He touched on the issue of illegal immigration, stating that before any Comprehensive Immigration Reform could be made, the border must be secured. The candidate commented that once the border is secured "there should be no amnesty" and that the proposed Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 was "an amnesty bill" that he opposed. When asked about the potential candidate of his namesake, Thompson responded by saying "if you’re talking about a reliable conservative, it is THIS Thompson —Tommy Thompson, not the actor (Fred Thompson)." After being questioned about the biggest mistake of the George W. Bush presidency, as a former member of the cabinet the former secretary responded:

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Thompson introduces himself at the June 5 GOP Debate

We went to Washington to change Washington and Washington changed us. We didn’t come up with new ideas. We got to transform health care. We got to wind — we got to wind down the war in Iraq. We got to make sure that we really are conservatives. If we’re going to spend money like — as foolishly and as stupidly as the Democrats, the voters are going to vote for the professional spending, the Democrat not the amateur spender, the Republican.

Following the debate, Thompson continued his criticism of the Bush administration while campaigning in New Hampshire, stating that he "would be a much more open president" than Bush. He criticized the handling of the Iraq War as "a terrible mistake" and assessed the president as "very cloistered... [with] very few inner-circle people." When Thompson returned to Iowa, he reaffirmed his strategy of relying on the state's straw poll to propel him from the lower tier, despite moves by the campaigns of Rudy Giuliani and John McCain to abort from the event. His strategy was analyzed by Drake University political science professor Dennis Goldford, who assessed that if the candidate "didn't make some sort of substantive showing" it would be hard for his money flow to continue.

Later in June, Representative Jim Sensenbrenner described the campaign as "anemic." The remark reflected the campaign's "chilling effect" on Republican activists. Other Republicans wondered if Thompson was running just to "get it out of his system." Strategist Mark Graul stated that the former governor "had a profound impact" on party members in Wisconsin, which had created a familiarity complex that caused people to say "'Oh, come on'" upon hearing of his run. Despite the qualms about the campaign, spokesman Steve Grubbs stated that Thompson wants "for people to give him a chance...[because] he knows he has a lot to prove, and he is working 90 hours a week to prove it." Thompson campaigned in Iowa for the rest of the month with a brief stop in New Hampshire on June 25.

July 2007

Presidential candidate Tommy Thompson campaigning in July 2007 in Iowa

Thompson campaigned hard in Iowa in July hoping to gain ground before the Iowa Straw poll. He also made a bold promise on July 12, stated that if he was elected president his administration would eliminate breast cancer by 2015. This promise was linked to afflictions of the disease in the candidate's family and was compared by the candidate to President Kennedy's pledge to put a man on the moon. The plan was marked by increases in funding for cancer research and providing incentives for medical professionals to find a cure.

After spending nearly all of the month campaigning in Iowa, Thompson said at the end of July that if he failed to win the Iowa straw poll, which he believed he could win, he would drop out of the race. He admitted that the campaign seriously lacked funds, but that it had its supporters to rely on.

I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't think I could win

— Tommy Thompson, Late July 2007
at a coffee shop in Des Moines in front of 40 people

August 2007

Thompson continued his strategy in Iowa heading into August, speaking on the trail about how "remarkably well" his campaign had been going. It was revealed that the campaign was running on an $890,000 budget and that no speechwriters or pollsters had been hired. In August, Thompson campaigned in the 99th county in Iowa, passing a milestone.

He competed in his final debate on August 5 in Des Moines. During the discourse, the candidate made the same points he had in previous debates, emphasizing health care, federalism, and popular sovereignty in Iraq. He described the war on terrorism as a "holy war" the United States was losing because of a lack of unity. At the end of the debate, Thompson made his last plea before the upcoming Iowa straw poll, addressing his wish for Republicans, Democrats and Independents to unite to "start building America a stronger and healthier and better tomorrow than ever before."

On August 11, 2007, after finishing in sixth place in the Iowa straw poll, Thompson dropped out of the race. He had received only 1,039 votes in the poll, around 7% of the ballots cast.

Polling

Washington Post-ABC News polling placed Thompson at 2% in December 2006. He fell to 1% in January 2007, but climbed back to 2% in February 2007, keeping that figure until the April 2007 poll. This placed Thompson in sixth place, trailing Newt Gingrich, who had not even announced he was running, by 4%. In state-by-state polling by USA Election Polls, Thompson ranged from receiving 0% support in some states to 4% support in New York and Iowa and 16% support in Wisconsin in May 2007. Some polls had placed Thompson at 24% in Wisconsin following his entrance into the race, which was considerably higher than the marks achieved by other lower tiered candidates in their home states.

In May 2007, Thompson finished second in a poll of state convention members from Wisconsin. He finished with 84 of the 306 members polled, trailing Fred Thompson who received 95 votes.

External links

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