Former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson officially ended his campaign to win the Republican nomination this weekend, after a disappointing 6th place finish in an Iowa Straw Poll that was missing three of the GOP’s top-tier candidates. Thompson had previously stated he would likely end his presidential bid if he did not finish first or second in Saturday’s Straw Poll. The former Governor had spent significant time campaigning in the Hawkeye State during the past several months.

Thompson never reached double digits in any public poll in Iowa. His highest level of measured support was 7 percent in the mid-May 2007 Des Moines Register Iowa Poll. Thompson registered 4 percent in the latest ABC News/ Washington Poll survey at the end of July.

With Thompson and Jim Gilmore out of the race, eight major Republican candidates remain—not including Fred Thompson, who has yet to formally announce his plans, and Illinois attorney John Cox, who has so far not been invited to participate in any of the Republican debates (though he was allowed to speak at the Straw Poll).

Thompson has not yet endorsed any of the remaining GOP contenders.

Posted in Iowa

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