Case study: John McCain, who had a less-than-thrilling first quarter financial showing, is doing money events almost every day this week to improve on or at least keep up with rivals Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney. Ditto for Sam Brownback and third-tier candidates, who need to raise enough to stay in the running. The plus for Thompson is that by forming an “exploratory” committee instead of an official campaign account, he can escape, or at least delay, the expectations game until Sept. 30, the third-quarter FEC deadline. Perhaps most important, Thompson can woo donors, including some who might have given to the other candidates.
How serious a threat do the other campaigns consider Thompson to be? Publicly, the other candidates are all smiles, including Mike Huckabee, who told “Fox News Sunday” that there was room for more GOPers in the race. But behind the scenes, it’s a different story. For weeks, rival campaigns have been scouring Thompson’s Senate votes and other public records for anything they might use against him in a race. They also worry about the effect Thompson’s star power might have on their own fund-raising and their staffing. Upon word late last night that Thompson would begin soliciting checks, your Gaggler e-mailed a rival campaign operative for response. “GREAT,” the operative replied. Still, it’s unclear if Thompson’s celebrity will give him an entirely smooth ride. The senator, who could announce his candidacy officially as early as July (the date, a Thompson friend tells The Gaggle, remains “flexible”), needs to make up ground quickly in early primary states like Iowa and New Hampshire, where McCain and Romney have spent millions hiring staff and building campaign infrastructure. But if polls are any indication, Thompson has got a good start. Without lifting a finger, he placed third behind Giuliani and McCain in a recent USA TODAY/Gallup poll quizzing Republicans about their presidential preferences.
