Thompson Campaign Press Release - Fred Thompson is Moving Up

McLean, VA - Less than a week after Fred Thompson announced his candidacy, six new polls have been released and they all concur: the race is tightening and Fred Thompson is moving up.

• CNN Headliner: "Poll: Thompson catches Giuliani in GOP race" (CNN, 9/12/07)

• USA Today Headliner: "Thompson climbs in GOP poll" (Susan Page, USA Today, 9/10/07)

• CBS News Headliner: "Poll: Giuliani Tumbles, GOP Race Tightens" (CBS, 9/10)

• Rasmussen: "The early returns are encouraging for Thompson and his team." (Rasmussen, The Thompson Bounce, 9/10/07)

• "The real story, post Labor Day, has been the solid pop for Fred Thompson following his formal announcement last week..." (John McIntyre, Real Clear Politics, 9/12/07)

• "Just a week after joining the presidential race, Fred Thompson is challenging Rudy Giuliani's lead in new national polls..." (Craig Gordon, Newsday, 9/12/07)

• "Giuliani & Thompson neck-and-neck in new poll: 'Days after he officially jumped into the Republican race for the White House, former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson finds himself in a statistical dead heat with Rudy Giuliani, according to a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released Tuesday....'(Mark Memmott and Jill Lawrence, USA Today, 7/12/07)

• "A CBS/New York Times poll showed Thompson climbing to within five percentage points of Giuliani, wiping out much of his 20-point lead from a month ago." (John Whitesides, Reuters, 7/11/07)

• "Analysts said Thompson's movement nationally signals that some Republicans who were waiting to fill the void in the race for a Southern conservative believe he might fit the bill." (Craig Gordon, Newsday, 9/12/07)

• "CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider said, 'Thompson has the edge among evangelical Republicans and especially among his fellow southerners; that's where Thompson has made the biggest gains.'" (CNN, 9/11/07)

• "Specifically, Thompson leads among men, southerners, voters age 50 and older and ideological conservatives." (CNN, 9/11/07)

• "In polling completed since his announcement, Thompson leads Giuliani by 12-points among conservative primary voters." (Rasmussen, The Thompson Bounce, 9/10/07)

• "Former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani ...has seen a dramatic erosion in his support, which now stands at its lowest point of the year, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. (Dan Balz and Jon Cohen, Washington Post, 9/12/07)"

• "Giuliani's support dropped from 37% in a July poll to 28% in the latest (national) survey, and his decline from February has been even more sharp." (Dan Balz and Jon Cohen, Washington Post, 9/12/07)

• "Until now, the former mayor had led his rivals for the nomination among these evangelicals; now 29 percent support Thompson, while 25 percent support Giuliani." (Dan Balz and Jon Cohen, Washington Post, 9/12/07)

Trend Continues In The Early States ...

• "In South Carolina, where Thompson is hoping to trade on his Southern roots, the former Tennessee senator leads Giuliani 26% to 23%, within the poll's margin of error. The result is a reversal from a Times/Bloomberg survey in June, when Giuliani outpolled Thompson." (Janet Hook and Peter Wallsten, Los Angeles Times, 7/12/07)

• "The South Carolina results indicate that, at least in that state, Thompson has made headway in his strategy of appealing to the party's conservative wing: 31% of South Carolina's religious-right voters support Thompson..."(Janet Hook and Peter Wallsten, Los Angeles Times, 7/12/07)

• "'He speaks the language of the South,' said David Woodard, a Clemson University political science professor. 'He's a Southerner, and there's some intangible things he brings.'" (Craig Gordon, Newsday, 9/12/07)

• "Among Republican voters, Giuliani...lags behind Fred Thompson in South Carolina." (Janet Hook and Peter Wallsten, Los Angeles Times, 7/12/07)

• And in those three states, a new Los Angeles Times-Bloomberg poll shows more worrisome news for Giuliani: despite leading in national polls all summer, he has been unable to translate those gains into first-place showings there. (Craig Gordon, Newsday, 9/12/07)

• Even Romney's seemingly decisive lead in Iowa is somewhat misleading, with three-quarters of Iowa Republicans who picked a candidate saying they might change their minds. (Craig Gordon, Newsday, 9/12/07)

• "Despite Romney's best efforts, the Christian right is still looking elsewhere for a candidate," said Allan Lichtman, a political science professor at American University in Washington. (Julianna Goldman, Bloomberg, 9/12/07)