As U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., dismissed rumors of a run in the 2008 presidential race Wednesday, former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson appointed a national political director to his presidential exploratory committee.
Kerry announced his decision on the Senate floor and also posted a formal letter and video on his website.
""I sought the presidency to lead us on a different course. There are powerful reasons to want to continue that fight now. But I've concluded this isn't the time for me to mount a presidential campaign,"" Kerry said. ""It is the time to put my energy to work as part of the new Democratic majority in the Senate, to do all I can to end this war.""
Thompson, who was Wisconsin governor for 14 years, appointed Darrin Schmitz, president of Persuasion Partners, Inc., a national political consulting firm based in Madison.
Schmitz, who worked with President Bush's 2000 campaign, was the executive director of the Wisconsin Republican Party for four years and advised Wisconsin's newly elected Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen.
""Darrin is a great addition to the team and I'm happy to have him on board the exploratory committee,"" Thompson said in a statement Wednesday. ""We're quickly building an experienced and committed team of individuals who will help move America forward.""
Several of Thompson's fellow party members have either filed documents with the Federal Elections Commission or formed exploratory committees to test the 2008 presidential waters. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., and several others have launched exploratory committees similar to Thompson's. All of these candidates have filed formal papers, according to the FEC. Familiar faces in the Democratic Party have also jumpstarted explorations: U.S. Sens. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and former U.S. Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., filed FEC papers this month, following former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack's November launch.
