Fred’s moved up to 2nd place in a recent Harris Poll….

As primary season nears, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani remains atop the ranks of Republican presidential hopefuls. But an as-yet-undeclared candidate, actor and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, has elbowed his way into the top tier of potential nominees and now rivals Arizona Sen. John McCain in popularity, the latest survey from Harris Interactive shows.

Among those who said they expect to vote in the Republican primaries and caucuses, 38% said they would be most likely to vote for Mr. Giuliani. His closest rivals, according to the poll, were Arizona Sen. John McCain and Mr. Thompson, each drawing the support of 18% of the respondents. 

Mr. Thompson’s popularity comes despite the fact that he has not indicated whether he will actually seek the presidency….

Read the rest of the article here.

Thompson Truckers doesn’t always put a lot of stock in polls, but you gotta like the results of a recent InsiderAdvantage/Majority Opinion poll recently conducted in Alabama that shows Fred in 2nd place.  And that’s 2nd place for an unannounced candidate.  Roll Tide!

Republicans:
“Of the following potential candidates, if the primary were held today, which candidate would you vote for?
Giuliani: 21%
(Fred) Thompson: 19%

Check out the full results here.

The conservative blogging community Redstate recently ran a straw poll asking their readers who they would vote for for President were the election held to today. Senator Thompson won the poll handily, winning 35% of the vote. Mitt Romney was in second place with only 12%.

Yet more evidence that Republicans on the ground want Fred.

Former Clinton advisor Dick Morris has a good piece on the impact of Fred Thompson potentially entering the race.  He writes:

The Thompson numbers are important in two respects: They show that McCain is continuing to slip and slide as his campaign seems to lose momentum every day. But they also matter because Newt Gingrich, the other looming presence over the race, is badly trailing behind the undeclared Thompson, who seems to be picking up Newt’s voters. So if Newt stays out until September, as he has vowed he would, the survey indicates that Fred would obliterate him in the meantime and make it all but impossible for him to run. It looks like Republicans are still looking for an ideal candidate and take Thompson quite seriously.

Read the full column. 

Iowans for Fred Thompson has the scoop on a new Bloomberg/LA Times poll that has Fred Thompson pulling into second place in a new poll of likely Republican primary voters.  The LA Times writes:

WASHINGTON — Sen. John McCain, once considered the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, has fallen to third place in a new Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll, and is running behind Fred Thompson, an actor and former senator who has not even entered the race.

Former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani leads the crowded field of announced and potential contenders with support from 29% of probable Republican primary voters surveyed, followed by Thompson with 15% and McCain with 12%. Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor and a fundraising powerhouse, had 8%.

When looking at this, it is important to remember that Fred hasn’t even decided that he is running yet.  Despite that he is out polling candidates that have been running for months or years.

The Tennessean has the scoop on a new poll of Tennessee Republicans:

Fred Thompson is by far the most popular potential presidential candidate among Tennessee Republican voters, with 45 percent of those surveyed making him their top choice, according to a poll released Monday.

That the former GOP senator would get top billing in his home state is not a surprise.

What’s surprising is his lead over possible opponents and the magnitude of support for a man who has only hinted at a run, said pollster Matt Towery of InsiderAdvantage.

Read the full article.