2008 Presidential Campaign Blog

Friends of Fred Thompson Continues To Strengthen Communications Department

Friends of Fred Thompson Continues To Strengthen Communications Department

McLean, VA - Friends of Fred Thompson, Inc. is pleased to announce today the hiring of Bush-Cheney '04 Veteran Patrick Burchette, and grassroots operative Daniel Conston.  Both will work in the communications department.

Patrick Burchette was a member of the heralded Bush-Cheney rapid response operation and he played a critical role in the president's reelection.  Burchette worked closely with the campaign's leadership in helping to successfully respond to repeated attacks by Democratic opponents and liberal interest groups.

Daniel Conston was a grassroots director for the Republican Jewish Coalition, where he played a key role in strategic marketing and direct mail fundraising campaigns.

"Patrick and Dan bring valuable campaign and political experience to Thompson's press operation," communications director Todd Harris said. "We are very fortunate to have them on board and I look forward to working closely with them in the months ahead."

Prior to working for Bush-Cheney, Burchette worked for Virginia Senator John Warner, as well as the House Judiciary Committee.  Burchette is a graduate of the University of Virginia and Wake Forest University School of Law.

Conston has experience working for the American International Group ("AIG"), as well as the White House's Office of Public Liaison.  Conston is a graduate of George Washington University.

Friends of Fred Thompson Committee To Air First Advertising

Friends of Fred Thompson Committee to Air First Commercials on Wednesday and Thursday

McLEAN, VA - Friends of Fred Thompson Committee today announces that it plans to air a 30-second television commercial entitled "Debate" tomorrow night on the Fox News Channel. Additionally, the committee will be airing a modified version of the ad, entitled "I'm In," on Thursday, September 6th.

"One of this campaign's greatest strengths is Fred's ability to connect on a one on one basis with voters. By driving viewers to our website to hear his webcast announcement and learn more about Fred, these ads play to that strength and help to build our network in advance of his first trips to the early primary states as a candidate," stated campaign manager Bill Lacy.

Fred Thompson Wins Republican Party Of Minnesota State Fair Straw Poll

Former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson Wins Republican Party Of Minnesota State Fair Straw Poll

Former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson won the Republican Party of Minnesota State Fair Straw Poll last evening with 1989 votes. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani placed second with 1272 votes. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney finished third with 876 votes.

"The enthusiasm demonstrated by individuals participating in our State Fair Straw Poll is encouraging," commented Republican Party of Minnesota Chairman Ron Carey. "National polls show Republicans on the rise. I am increasingly confident that Minnesota is ready to go 'Red' in 2008."

A full list of the votes is below:

Thompson 1989
Giuliani 1272
Romney 876
McCain 500
Paul 452
Huckabee 376
Gingrich 285
Hunter 137
Brownback 95
Tancredo 60
Cox 14

Veteran GOP Communications Strategist Karen Hanretty Joins Friends of Fred Thompson

Veteran GOP Communications Strategist Karen Hanretty Joins Friends of Fred Thompson

McLean, VA - The Friends of Fred Thompson committee announced today the hiring of veteran GOP communications strategist Karen Hanretty as Deputy Communications Director.  Hanretty will assist in the coordination of all communications and media strategy and will serve as an on-the-record spokesperson for the committee. 

During California's historic gubernatorial recall campaign of 2003, Hanretty served as press secretary to Arnold Schwarzenegger's successful campaign for Governor  and managed the press operation for the governor-elect during his transition into office. In the capacity of press secretary, Hanretty helped coordinate communications and media strategy for one of the country's most talked about political campaigns and served as a principal spokesperson to hundreds of media outlets throughout the country and around the world. 

"Quite simply, Karen is one of the best there is and she will be an enormous asset to our team," said Todd Harris, Communications Director for the Friends of Fred Thompson committee.   

From 2003-2005, Hanretty was Communications Director for the California Republican Party.  In this senior-level position, she served as chief spokesperson for the Party, coordinated communications and media strategy and developed rapid response effort on behalf of the party operations and Governor Schwarzenegger's 2005 special election campaign.

Hanretty has also been a national political commentator, regularly appearing on Fox News Channel, MSNBC and CNN to provide political analysis on programs such as The O'Reilly Factor and Hardball with Chris Matthews. She is a frequent guest on Fox News' Hannity & Colmes where she has appeared as guest host for the popular show.

Fred Thompson Iowa Announcement Tour Schedule

Thursday, September 6

Des Moines, IA
Polk County Convention Complex
501 Grand Avenue
1:20pm Doors Open, 2:00 pm start

Council Bluffs, IA
Bayliss Park
6:20pm doors open, 7:00 pm start

Friday, September 7

Sioux City, IA
Sioux City Convention Center
801 Fourth Street
9:20am doors open, 10:00am Start

Mason City, IA
Music Man Square
308 South Pennsylvania Avenue
5:20pm doors open, 6:00pm start

Saturday, September 8

Cedar Rapids, IA
Cedar Rapids Marriott
1200 Collins Rd NE
9:20am Doors open, 10:00am start

Davenport, IA
Centennial Park
12:20pm doors open, 1:00pm start

Thompson To Announce Run For President With Online Video Followed By Three-State Campaign Tour

Thompson to Announce Run for President with Online Video Followed by Three-State Campaign Tour

McLean, VA – On September 6, 2007, Fred Thompson will be announcing his intention to run for President of the United States with a webcast available to millions at www.imwithfred.com. The launch of the video will be followed by a five-day campaign tour through Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

“I believe that there are millions of Americans who know that our security and prosperity are at risk if we don’t address the challenges of our time; the global threat of terrorism; taxes and spending that will bankrupt future generations, and a government that can’t seem to get the most basic responsibilities right for its citizens,” stated Fred Thompson.

“The response that we’ve received makes me confident that we have an opportunity to change politics in Washington and across the country, and take on these challenges the way every generation of Americans has faced the challenges of their time – with unity, hard work and a belief that we will come out on the winning side,” continued Thompson.

“We enter this campaign in a strong position,” said committee manager Bill Lacy. “Fred is consistently near the top in the polls, and conservatives across the country have put together the closest thing to a draft in recent presidential campaign history in an effort to bring about this day. The next few weeks will only serve to build upon those efforts, with house parties nationwide on the 6th, and visits to the early primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, quickly followed by stops in Florida and a homecoming in Lawrenceburg, TN on the 15th.”

“By announcing via webcast, Fred is able to take his consistently mainstream conservative message directly to the voters, who are already responding to that message with a strong upwelling of grassroots support. The webcast and the following campaign tour will play to Fred’s strengths, a consistent record of conservatism, his ability to clearly spread his message, and his ability to work with and connect with Americans from all walks of life,” said Lacy.

The committee will file our formal paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission within 15 days, the time allowed by law after Fred decided to run. Additionally, we will begin to consider candidate based events following Fred’s broadcast on September 6, 2007.

Campaign tour cities and dates are listed below. Exact event locations will be released in the coming days.
Thursday, September 6

Afternoon Des Moines, IA
Evening Council Bluffs, IA

Friday, September 7

Morning Sioux City, IA
Evening Mason City, IA

Saturday, September 8

Morning Cedar Rapids, IA
Afternoon Davenport, IA
Evening Portsmouth, NH

Sunday, September 9

Afternoon Manchester, NH
Evening Nashua, NH

Monday, September 10

Morning Charleston, SC
Afternoon Columbia, SC

Jonathan Martin Reports That Fred Thompson Will Announce Sept 6th

Sources: Thompson to announce Sept. 6th

"Fred Thompson's campaign-in-waiting will hold a 4 p.m. conference call today with supporters to brief them on plans for the former Tennessee senator's presidential announcement next week, according to an e-mail obtained by Politico.com."

Friends Of Fred Thompson Announce The Hiring Of New Communications Director

FRIENDS OF FRED THOMPSON ANNOUNCE THE HIRING OF NEW COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR

The Friends of Fred Thompson committee today announced the hiring of Todd Harris as Communications Director.  In this capacity, Harris will oversee all communications efforts, including press and messaging.

Harris has worked on dozens of political campaigns and has served as a senior communications strategist for some of the nation's most prominent elected officials, including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. John McCain.

Roll Call called him "a spinner extraordinaire in the world of political communication," while The New Republic dubbed him a "press guru."

"Our team is further strengthened with the hire of Todd today," said committee manager, Bill Lacy.  "His experience at the national level is invaluable."

Currently a principal of Navigators, Harris counsels clients on media relations, communications and message strategy.

Harris served as communications director and spokesman on Florida Governor Jeb Bush's victorious reelection campaign in 2002, during which Florida Today wrote, "The man managing Gov. Jeb Bush's image in Florida and nationwide handles media coverage like a combat sport."

More recently, Harris has served as a senior communications strategist for California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and was co-communications director on Schwarzenegger's historic victorious 2003 gubernatorial campaign. 

In 2000, he was the traveling press secretary and spokesman on Senator John McCain's campaign for the White House.

Fred Thompson Minnesota State Fair Photos

Fred Thompson Minnesota State Fair Photos