Thompson ready to test '08 waters at state GOP gala

• Article
• Comments ()
• Click-2-Listen
• Videos

By

Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson will be coming to Virginia as part of an effort to drum up support among conservative voters.

The "Law & Order" star, who is said to be "testing the waters" for a 2008 presidential run, will be the keynote speaker at the Republican Party of Virginia's 2007 Commonwealth Gala Saturday in Richmond.

His attendance will be the latest high-profile appearance orchestrated by Ed Gillespie, state party chairman and former Republican National Committee chairman who worked with Mr. Thompson in 2005 on the confirmation of Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.

Mr. Thompson would likely appeal to conservative voters thus far dissatisfied with Republican front-runners Rudolph W. Giuliani, a former New York mayor; Arizona Sen. John McCain; and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

"If the election was tomorrow, and conservatives had to go to the polls and vote for one of these three leading guys, then a lot of conservatives would probably stay home," said state Delegate Jeffrey M. Frederick, Prince William Republican. "The three leading candidates in the race right now all have problems with the conservative base -- significant problems -- and I think that conservatives nationally are looking for a bona fide conservative candidate. Someone who is not a fringe candidate either, but one that actually can win."

Many Virginia conservatives argue that Republicans lost in last year's elections because they forgot conservative principles, particularly limited government. And now President Bush is being criticized for pushing an immigration proposal that conservatives say awards amnesty to illegal aliens.

Conservatives "are very unhappy with the state of the party,"said Craig Shirley, an Alexandria-based Republican strategist.

Mr. Bush and his wife, Laura, this month helped the state party raise about $630,000 at a gathering in Goochland County.

The party plans on putting much of the money into tight races in this fall's elections, when all 140 General Assembly seats will be up for grabs and Republicans will work to keep control of the state House and Senate.

A Thompson candidacy is intriguing to Virginia voters looking for a conservative like Ronald Reagan, said state Delegate L. Scott Lingamfelter, Prince William Republican.