The Politico is reporting that Fred Thompson will drop out of the Presidential race if he doesn’t finish at least third in tonight’s Iowa Caucuses:
DES MOINES, Iowa – Several Republican officials close to Fred Thompson’s presidential campaign said they expect the candidate will drop out of the race within days if he finishes poorly in Thursday’s Iowa caucus.
Thompson’s campaign, which last spring and summer was generating fevered anticipation in the media and with some Republican activists, has never ignited nationally, and there are no signs of a late spark happening here in Iowa, where even a third-place finish is far from assured.
This reality—combined with a fundraising drought—left well-connected friends and advisers of Thompson Wednesday evening predicting that he will pull the plug on hype and hope before the Jan. 8 New Hampshire primary.
The last batch of polls before the voting shows Thompson in a tight battle with a surging John McCain for third place, with Ron Paul close on his heels. While finishing third is a possibility for Thompson, it’s far from guaranteed, and even if it happens its hard to see where he would go from there. He’s not leading or even in contention anywhere else.
Back in May, it seemed like Fred Thompson was the conservative to beat in the Republican race. But that was eight months ago, and reality has been far different.
January 3rd, 2008 at 8:15 am
Hope Fred pulls off a Top 3 finish here in the Hawkeye State!
http://fayettecountyrepublicanpartyiowa.blogspot.com/
January 3rd, 2008 at 3:35 pm
Well, this rumor didn’t last long.