#2 For Fred

Fred Soars to #2, Already?

Fred Soars to #2, Already?

Thursday, June 07, 2007 12:48 AM

Imagine that?

I don’t think he is going to have a problem with the “slugfest”…not ONE bit!!

Former US Senator Fred Thompson gestures during an interview with the Associated Press prior to a fund raiser in Richmond, Va., Saturday, June 2, 2007. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

While former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson has simply formed an exploratory campaign committee, the mere expectation that he will enter the field of GOP presidential candidates has vaulted him into second place in the polls focused on those Republican contenders.

A new InsiderAdvantage/Majority Opinion national survey is the first one taken after Thompson made his move toward a probable, eventual announcement that he’s running. It showed Rudy Giuliani still leading at 28 percent, but Thompson had surged into second place with 19 percent, followed by John McCain and Mitt Romney with 17 percent each.

The poll surveyed 1000 likely voters in Republican primaries or caucuses across the nation. It was conducted May 31-June 1, just days after Thompson’s exploratory committee was announced. The poll has been weighted for age, race, gender and geographic population distribution.

A week later, internal polling conducted for the organization that was involved in drafting Fred Thompson also showed him in second place.

Now the critical question is whether Fred Thompson can take the political capital he’s already gained by simply saying he’s ready to run, and turn it into an overtaking of Giuliani and the other contenders in a Republican slugfest.