The Tommy Thompson presidential campaign of 2008 began when the former Wisconsin Governor and Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson announced his candidacy for the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States on April 1, 2007. Thompson centered his campaign in Iowa, where he had spent the previous year building an organization in anticipation of the Ames straw poll. Throughout the campaign, Thompson remained low in Republican opinion polls and garnered very few political endorsements and campaign donations. He dropped out of the race on August 12, 2007, following a sixth-place finish at Ames.
For his campaign, Thompson focused primarily on the issues of health care reform and the War in Iraq. He campaigned almost exclusively in Iowa but did participate in four nationally televised presidential debates. Political gaffes and health issues beset the campaign. After his withdrawal, Thompson endorsed Rudy Giuliani for president and backed John McCain once Giuliani exited the race. Four years later, Thompson unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Senate in Wisconsin as the Republican nominee.
Background
Tommy Thompson's political career began in 1966 upon his election to the Wisconsin State Assembly after graduating from law school at University of Wisconsin–Madison. While in the assembly, he received the nickname of "Dr. No" for blocking legislation through parliamentary procedure. He was named assistant minority leader of the body in 1973 and became minority leader in 1981. He unsuccessfully ran for United States Congress in 1979, losing in the Republican primary to Tom Petri.
Thompson was elected Governor of Wisconsin in 1986. He was re-elected three times. During his tenure, he successfully pushed for welfare reform through Wisconsin Works, a workfare program. Welfare participation decreased by 90% under the program. Thompson also successfully backed a school voucher program. Near the end of his governorship, Thompson implemented BadgerCare, which provided health coverage for children ineligible for Medicaid. As governor, Thompson vetoed bills frequently and often exercised the line-item veto. None of his vetoes were overturned. Thompson served as chairman of the National Governors Association from 1995 to 1996. He was considered as a potential running mate for Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole in 1996, but was passed over for Jack Kemp. Thompson left as governor during his fourth term in 2001 to serve as Secretary of Health and Human Services in the George W. Bush administration.
As Secretary of Health and Human Services, Thompson introduced measures to increase funding for the National Institutes of Health and reorganized the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. His position attained a unique significance following the attacks of 9/11 and the subsequent anthrax attacks. He was responsible for national preparedness in the event of bioterrorism. Though he wished to resign from the position in 2003, Bush asked that he stay on for the rest of Bush's first term. Thompson announced his resignation at a press conference in December 2004 in which he surprisingly admitted, "I, for the life of me, cannot understand why the terrorists have not attacked our food supply." He officially left the position in January 2005 and began work in the private sector.
Exploration
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." He hired Rodman P. Hise as the treasurer of the committee, and gained the assistance of former advisers from his previous campaigns, including fundraiser Phil Prange, and former press secretary Darrin Schmitz, who was eventually hired as political director. A Washington Post-ABC News poll placed Thompson at 2% in December 2006. He fell to 1% in January 2007, but climbed back to 2% the following month.
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. Former Iowa State Representative Steve Grubbs was added as the campaign's consultant for the state. Grubbs had planned to work on the presidential campaign of Senator George Allen, but his usage of an offensive term prevented him from entering the race. Though Thompson was not yet considered a "viable candidate", Grubbs felt that the frontrunners John McCain, Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney were unacceptable to the Republican base. He believed that Thompson "had more experience" than any other candidate, and could unify the party.John F. Kennedy School of Government. Institute of Politics, p. 9
In order to be a "viable candidate", Cook Political Report editor Jennifer Duffy commented that Thompson would have to raise at least $35 to $50 million by June. He raised $314,000 in the first quarter of 2007.
On the campaign trail
Announcement 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 was attempting to establish in Iowa. The state would hold the nation's first presidential 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. He remained at 2% in presidential polls, in sixth place overall behind potential candidates Newt Gingrich and Fred Thompson, but ahead of declared candidates Ron Paul, Jim Gilmore, Tom Tancredo, Sam Brownback, Duncan Hunter and Mike Huckabee. Statewide polls placed Thompson at 24% in his home state of Wisconsin, which was considerably higher than the marks achieved by other lower tiered candidates in their home states. 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."
April 2007
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 do so 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.
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." Campaign adviser Steve Grubbs would later point to this episode as the moment Thompson's campaign became "unrecoverable."John F. Kennedy School of Government. Institute of Politics, p. 10 Thompson was harshly criticized for the remarks. Jason Stephany, the political director of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, 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 tried to reassure the public that there was "nothing discriminatory about [himself] at all." Afterwards, he finished second in a poll of state convention members from Wisconsin, with 84 of the 306 members polled, trailing Fred Thompson who received 95 votes. He stood at 16% in an average of statewide polls for the state in May, and stood at 4.3% in Iowa, where he based his campaign.
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 his alma mater 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 number of troops and to make sure that an exit strategy was planned. Following the debate, Thompson campaigned in New Hampshire before taking a break for the rest of the month.
June 2007