THE 1996 CAMPAIGN

The Journal Sentinel staff

Madison Gov. Tommy G. Thompson said Friday that if the decision were made today, he would not run for president.

But the governor disclosed he has four trips scheduled in the next two months to the presidential battleground states of Iowa and New Hampshire.

He also said he has asked those supporters and GOP activists in Wisconsin who have approached him to refrain from joining any other presidential campaigns until he decides whether to run.

"People come up to me and say, `Would you like me to stay out of it, or would you like me to endorse somebody?' If you ask me, I say, `Stay out of it until I make up my mind,' " Thompson said during an interview Friday.

Several close supporters of Thompson are discussing plans to form a presidential exploratory committee on his behalf.

The third-term Republican governor, who has cultivated a national reputation in recent years on issues such as welfare Leg 1 ends here reform, reiterated his belief that a presidential candidate could get in the race as late as this fall, without the millions of dollars the party's front-runners have raised, and have a shot at winning.

Thompson has said he won't make a decision about the 1996 campaign until after his state budget is approved this summer. He said Friday that if he entered the race, it wouldn't be until October or November.

Party activists in the state have generally refrained from joining any other national campaigns while Thompson holds out the possibility of running. But as more and more time goes by, that is likely to change.

Of the other GOP candidates in the race, Thompson said, "I'm impressed with them personally, but I'm not impressed with their campaigns."

These were some of his specific comments:

On Kansas Sen. Bob Dole: "Bob Dole is so far out in front . . . For anybody to have a Leg 2 ends here chance Bob Dole has got to stumble," Thompson said. "That may not happen."

The governor said that "candidates are going to have to start attacking Bob Dole. Not me, because I think the world of Bob Dole. But some candidates are going to start attacking him, and that may or may not have an impact."

On Texas Sen. Phil Gramm: Thompson said Gramm's strategy of raising massive amounts of money early "is just a way to scare a lot of people out of the race . . . I don't see it as really that large an undertaking if you wanted to do it."

On California Gov. Pete Wilson: Thompson termed Wilson and Christine Todd Whitman of New Jersey as the obvious choices if a governor winds up in the No. 2 slot on the 1996 ticket Wilson because of the electoral importance of California and Whitman because of her gender. But Thompson said he doubted a candidate who supports abortion rights as Wil Leg 3 ends here son does could win the GOP presidential nomination.

Thompson said he thought he could run a plausible campaign in Iowa, the first battleground, by bringing "thousands" of volunteers into the state. But he acknowledged that Iowa's caucus system, which places a huge premium on the organization and recruitment of activists, made it harder for him, because most activists there have already chosen sides.

"But if you came out of Iowa and you came out of New Hampshire in the top three, or the top four, you're going to get as much money as you need."

Thompson also said he thought there was great potential for major splits to develop in both the Republican and Democratic coalitions next year, as well as independent candidacies emerging around figures such as Ross Perot and Colin Powell.

"Which is why I say it's still wide open. People are really in a contrary mood right now, evidence the election."

Copyright 1995
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