Former governor and Wisconsin native Tommy Thompson may have his sights on entering the political world once again. However, the capacity in which he may do so is still uncertain, according to local news sources in March.
A run for president, a seat in the U.S. Senate or a possible late entry into the highly contested Wisconsin gubernatorial election this November are possibilities that have kept political pundits wondering about Thompson's future.
In an interview with Milwaukee's Sunday Insight\ talk show last week, Milwaukee County Executive and ex-gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker said he urged Thompson to stop talk of a possible gubernatorial candidacy and set his sights elsewhere.
""I wish my good friend and former governor Tommy Thompson would stop talking about the governorship and focus seriously on the idea of running for United States Senate,"" Walker said in the interview.
UW-Madison political science professor Charles Franklin said it is hard to know whether the speculation is genuine and how much of it is ""the usual kind of political pandering.""
Fellow UW-Madison political science professor Dennis Dresang said he thought Thompson's latest talk was not surprising in the least.
""He's been doing this for quite some time. This is not the first time he has generated rumors about running for president, running for vice president, running for U.S. senator, running for governor, running for mayor of Elroy,"" Dresang said. ""The only thing we haven't heard him generate a rumor on, is running for dogcatcher someplace.""
Franklin said he thought Thompson would most likely run for governor, but said it is hard to reflect on how the possible late entry would affect both Gov. Jim Doyle and Republican challenger, U.S. Rep. Mark Green, R-Green Bay.
""I don't think it matters up until the moment Tommy Thompson says he is actually in the race. If he at some point says ‘that's it, I'm a candidate for governor,' then I think that's a gigantic upset to everybody's strategy, both Republican and Democrat,"" Franklin said. ""I think it would change Doyle from being an incumbent governor in a tough race but one he at least has a pretty good chance of winning to an incumbent governor who is now facing overwhelming odds.""
Dresang said Thompson's reputation would quell disadvantages of a late entry.
""Typically, people announce early so that they can get some attention from the media, so they can get some name recognition,"" Dresang said. ""He's got that so he doesn't need it, so he can afford to run late.""
Rob Vernon, press secretary for Mark Green, said the Green camp is not considering Thompson as a GOP challenger.
""Mark Green agrees with Tommy Thompson that Jim Doyle is doing a terrible job as Wisconsin's governor,"" Vernon said.
""Mark considers Tommy a friend and mentor, and until he hears differently, he's not thinking about Tommy running for governor,"" he said.\
