Hasting Wymans Surveys The GOP 'Southern' Field
By Hasting Wymans, Southern Political Report ~ Southern Republicans continue to jump into -- or dip a toe in -- the 2008 presidential waters. US Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) made his candidacy official on Monday, announcing from Washington, DC, that he is a candidate for the GOP presidential nomination.
Paul, though a long shot at best, is no stranger to presidential politics. In 1988, Paul garnered some 432,000 votes -- or about ½ of 1% -- as the Libertarian Party’s nominee for president. He will not resign his House seat to run, however, suggesting the highly principled ideologue has not entirely lost sight of practical politics. Paul, who is 71, has made news in recent years for his opposition to the war in Iraq, not the typical position for Southern Republicans.
A more likely prospect for the Republican nomination if he runs, though still a dark horse, is former US Sen. Fred Thompson (R-TN). Thompson served eight years in the Senate before retiring in 2002. Although he made his professional reputation early in life as an attorney -- he was the Minority Counsel to the Senate’s Watergate Committee in 1973-74 -- Thompson is better known of late for his role as the District Attorney in the television series Law & Order, one of a number of dramatic roles in film and television that the Nashville politico has played.
While Thompson’s voting record in the Senate was fairly conservative, he has more of the feel of a mainstream Republican in the mold of his fellow Tennessean former Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker. So whether he can fill the gap on the GOP’s right left by the leading ex-moderates -- John McCain, Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani -- in the Republican race remains to be seen.
If both Thompson and Paul run, there are likely to be five Southern Republicans in the 2008 White House sweepstakes.
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee has been conducting a highly visible campaign, criss-crossing those states -- especially in the South -- with early primaries and hitting the television talk shows.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, while not formally in the race, is a sure-thing for the 2008 contest, says InsiderAdvantage CEO Matt Towery, who served as Gingrich’s campaign chairman from 1992 until he resigned from Congress. In a recent column, Towery wrote that he is “100 percent positive that Gingrich will enter the battle for the GOP nomination… The real issue for Team Gingrich on a presidential announcement is not if, but when."
Former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore announced last December and filed with the Federal Election Commission in January, but little has been heard from him since then. He did, however, make the rounds at the recent the American Conservative Union Political Action Committee conference in Washington, and has hired a New York consultant.
Ironically, however, it is the Yankees in the race who continue to be the favorites of Southern Republicans. New Yorker Giuliani is leading in the polls, even in Dixie; McCain, from Arizona, is usually second, with former Massachusetts Romney third or fourth. So far, Gingrich is the only Southerner to show popular strength among Dixie voters, usually running third or fourth.
Paul, though a long shot at best, is no stranger to presidential politics. In 1988, Paul garnered some 432,000 votes -- or about ½ of 1% -- as the Libertarian Party’s nominee for president. He will not resign his House seat to run, however, suggesting the highly principled ideologue has not entirely lost sight of practical politics. Paul, who is 71, has made news in recent years for his opposition to the war in Iraq, not the typical position for Southern Republicans.
A more likely prospect for the Republican nomination if he runs, though still a dark horse, is former US Sen. Fred Thompson (R-TN). Thompson served eight years in the Senate before retiring in 2002. Although he made his professional reputation early in life as an attorney -- he was the Minority Counsel to the Senate’s Watergate Committee in 1973-74 -- Thompson is better known of late for his role as the District Attorney in the television series Law & Order, one of a number of dramatic roles in film and television that the Nashville politico has played.
While Thompson’s voting record in the Senate was fairly conservative, he has more of the feel of a mainstream Republican in the mold of his fellow Tennessean former Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker. So whether he can fill the gap on the GOP’s right left by the leading ex-moderates -- John McCain, Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani -- in the Republican race remains to be seen.
If both Thompson and Paul run, there are likely to be five Southern Republicans in the 2008 White House sweepstakes.
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee has been conducting a highly visible campaign, criss-crossing those states -- especially in the South -- with early primaries and hitting the television talk shows.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, while not formally in the race, is a sure-thing for the 2008 contest, says InsiderAdvantage CEO Matt Towery, who served as Gingrich’s campaign chairman from 1992 until he resigned from Congress. In a recent column, Towery wrote that he is “100 percent positive that Gingrich will enter the battle for the GOP nomination… The real issue for Team Gingrich on a presidential announcement is not if, but when."
Former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore announced last December and filed with the Federal Election Commission in January, but little has been heard from him since then. He did, however, make the rounds at the recent the American Conservative Union Political Action Committee conference in Washington, and has hired a New York consultant.
Ironically, however, it is the Yankees in the race who continue to be the favorites of Southern Republicans. New Yorker Giuliani is leading in the polls, even in Dixie; McCain, from Arizona, is usually second, with former Massachusetts Romney third or fourth. So far, Gingrich is the only Southerner to show popular strength among Dixie voters, usually running third or fourth.
Labels: 2008 Presidential Race, Hastings Wyman, Southern Political Report
posted by Mike McCarville @ 6:44 AM
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