May 30, 2007 08:43 AM UTC

Fred Thompson is in the Republican race for President

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• by: OrdinaryColoradoan

( – promoted by Colorado Pols)

As usual the Weekly Standard’s Hayes is the first one with all the goods. June 4th is fund raising and hiring start, and it looks like the rumored July 4th will be the campaign announcement date.

Thompson addressed a group of more than 100 supporters and fund raisers whom the campaign has dubbed First Day Founders. He told them that he would be setting up an organization that will allow him to begin raising money and recruiting staff.

In official campaign finance parlance, the move represents a shift from “giving serious consideration” to a presidential bid, as Thompson said he would do back in March, as a non-candidate, to a “testing the waters” period where one is, in effect, a candidate-in-waiting with a campaign-in-preparation. Thompson advisers point out that the new testing-the-waters entity is not quite a campaign committee, though it will officially begin accepting contributions on June 4.

One rumor making the rounds last night anticipated an official announcement in his hometown in Tennessee in a month–on July 4th. Independence Day could be Announcement Day.

http://coloradoansfo…

More at my blog, and a link to the full article as well.

Questions:  How does this impact the Republican filed?  Who does it kill off?

Colorado question: How does a grass roots candidate affect Bill Owens and the top of the party, who have sold themselves to Romney?