Bradley in DC
07-10-2007, 03:55 PM
http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2007/07/10/news/iowa/4ddf0cd9e901b37b8625731400140179.txt
Thompson sets sights on straw poll victory
By Charlotte Eby Journal Des Moines Bureau
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INDIANOLA, Iowa -- GOP presidential hopeful Tommy Thompson set a high bar for himself during a campaign stop in Iowa Monday, saying he has to win the Republican straw poll in Ames next month.
"If I win the straw poll, I certainly will have no problem raising the dollars," Thompson said in Indianola. "So it's really the straw poll I've got to win."
The former Wisconsin governor is one of eight GOP candidates so far who have committed to competing in the straw poll. Two major candidates, John McCain and Rudy Giuliani, have said they will skip the event, considered an early test of strength.
With McCain and Giuliani out of the picture, lesser-known candidates are hoping a strong showing at the straw poll could catapult them into the spotlight.
Thompson's campaign raised just over $473,000 in the second quarter of the year, far behind GOP fundraising leader Giuliani, who raked in $15 million, with Mitt Romney closely behind at $14 million.
That compares to the $32 million raised during the same period by Democrat Barack Obama.
Thompson said Monday that undecided voters had better make up their minds soon on whom they will support with just one month to go before the Ames straw poll.
Thompson is taking his "Common Sense Solutions Tour" on a 100-city swing of the state in a Winnebago recreational vehicle. He's set a goal of having visited all of Iowa's 99 counties by the end of the tour.
"Nobody is working harder, and nobody has been here more, and so the old adage is, is that if you want votes out of Iowa, you've got to come and ask for them. And I'm doing that, and nobody else is doing it like I'm doing it," Thompson said.
Thompson missed the opening night of his tour in Ames after the plane on the commercial flight he had booked broke down.
Thompson described "overflowing" crowds on his earlier campaign stops once he made it to the state.
"It's just been outstanding. People have been great. People are turning out and supporting me," Thompson said.
John J. Taylor, the former Warren County Sheriff, has ruled out supporting Giuliani and McCain, but is still undecided about the rest of the GOP field.
"I think we have a number of them that are probably of equal status, any one of which is capable of being a good president," said Taylor, who was at Thompson's event Monday.
Charlotte Eby can be reached at (515) 243-0138 or chareby@aol.com.
Thompson sets sights on straw poll victory
By Charlotte Eby Journal Des Moines Bureau
Leave a comment. | Share | Small | Large
INDIANOLA, Iowa -- GOP presidential hopeful Tommy Thompson set a high bar for himself during a campaign stop in Iowa Monday, saying he has to win the Republican straw poll in Ames next month.
"If I win the straw poll, I certainly will have no problem raising the dollars," Thompson said in Indianola. "So it's really the straw poll I've got to win."
The former Wisconsin governor is one of eight GOP candidates so far who have committed to competing in the straw poll. Two major candidates, John McCain and Rudy Giuliani, have said they will skip the event, considered an early test of strength.
With McCain and Giuliani out of the picture, lesser-known candidates are hoping a strong showing at the straw poll could catapult them into the spotlight.
Thompson's campaign raised just over $473,000 in the second quarter of the year, far behind GOP fundraising leader Giuliani, who raked in $15 million, with Mitt Romney closely behind at $14 million.
That compares to the $32 million raised during the same period by Democrat Barack Obama.
Thompson said Monday that undecided voters had better make up their minds soon on whom they will support with just one month to go before the Ames straw poll.
Thompson is taking his "Common Sense Solutions Tour" on a 100-city swing of the state in a Winnebago recreational vehicle. He's set a goal of having visited all of Iowa's 99 counties by the end of the tour.
"Nobody is working harder, and nobody has been here more, and so the old adage is, is that if you want votes out of Iowa, you've got to come and ask for them. And I'm doing that, and nobody else is doing it like I'm doing it," Thompson said.
Thompson missed the opening night of his tour in Ames after the plane on the commercial flight he had booked broke down.
Thompson described "overflowing" crowds on his earlier campaign stops once he made it to the state.
"It's just been outstanding. People have been great. People are turning out and supporting me," Thompson said.
John J. Taylor, the former Warren County Sheriff, has ruled out supporting Giuliani and McCain, but is still undecided about the rest of the GOP field.
"I think we have a number of them that are probably of equal status, any one of which is capable of being a good president," said Taylor, who was at Thompson's event Monday.
Charlotte Eby can be reached at (515) 243-0138 or chareby@aol.com.