Thompson Targets Florida

THE THIRD-RANKING REPUBLICAN in the House of Representatives will support Fred Thompson for president. Adam Putnam, who represents Floridians in the suburbs and exurbs of Tampa and is a key player among conservatives in the House, will join the growing Thompson operation in a leadership position in Florida. Putnam's precise role in the coming campaign is still being worked out, but Thompson advisers expect him to help guide their effort in a state that has become increasingly important since Governor Charlie Crist signed legislation to move its primary up to January 29, 2008.

In recent weeks, several other House Republicans have indicated their support for the coming "Thompson for President" campaign. Tennessee Representative Marsha Blackburn, who had been a co-chair of Women for Romney, announced last week that she was switching her support to Thompson.

But Putnam is the first member of the Republican leadership to do so and the first since Thompson created a "testing the waters" committee last Friday. That entity allows Thompson to raise funds and recruit staff for his coming presidential bid. His largely unseen enterprise is doing both vigorously. In a conference call last week, more than 100 top supporters pledged to raise nearly $50,000 each by the end of the day today. The Thompson camp has been encouraged by the early response.

The campaign has attracted other big-name support in recent weeks. David McIntosh, a former member of Congress and highly regarded conservative thinker, joined Thompson as a top policy adviser. He will run the domestic policy team with Larry Lindsey, who served as George W. Bush's chief economic adviser during the 2000 presidential campaign and later served in the same capacity at the White House. And Mary Matalin, former adviser to George H.W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, has agreed to advise the campaign on political and communications matters. Announcements of other significant Thompson signings and endorsements will come soon. (Politico.com reported Monday that Thompson had also secured the backing of George P. Bush, the heartthrob nephew of President George W. Bush and son of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush.)

The youthful Putnam (he is 33) is widely regarded as one of the rising stars among conservatives in the House. He was first elected to House in 2000, at the age of 26. Six years later, his colleagues chose Putnam as chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee, making him the fourth-ranking member of his party in Congress' lower chamber. He has served as chairman of the House Republican Conference since the beginning of the current session.

As important to the Thompson campaign as Putnam's congressional chops are his extensive ties among Florida Republicans--he served for four years in the state legislature before being elected to Congress. As an early primary state, Florida will play a major role in the selection of the Republican nominee. And because the primary date was moved up only recently, Thompson's late entry matters less than it does in places like Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, where his rivals have been building organizations for months. A Datamar poll taken in late May found that Thompson was the second choice of Florida Republicans even before he set up his "testing the waters" committee. The results: Giuliani, 27; Thompson, 22; Romney, 18; and McCain, 12.

Meanwhile, at least one South Carolina poll--another early primary state, just after Iowa and New Hampshire--has Thompson leading.

Stephen F. Hayes is senior writer at THE WEEKLY STANDARD.