Lesser GOP Lights Strike IOP

Will Tommy Thompson or Mike Huckabee win your vote for U.S. president?

While these two Republican candidates are relatively unknown, senior advisers for their campaigns contested that these dark-horse contenders will outlast the big-name politicians in the 2008 campaign at an Institute of Politics (IOP) forum yesterday.

The event, part of the “Campaign 2008: Looking Ahead” series, featured top strategists for former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, former Ark. Governor Mike Huckabee, and former Wis. Governor Tommy Thompson.

While the representatives for Huckabee and Thompson touted their candidates’ credentials, Gingrich’s senior advisers peddled no such ambitions.

Gingrich’s strategists said the former speaker of the House has not decided whether he will run for the nation’s top post.

But while Gingrich’s entry into the race is seen as unlikely, members of the Harvard Republican Club (HRC) have already formed a “Students for Newt” group, according to HRC President Jeffrey Kwong ’09.

With Gingrich’s uncertainty about his candidacy and the anonymity of the other two candidates, this event contrasted with the first two forums in the IOP series.

The first event featured advisers for GOP candidates Rudy Guiliani, John McCain, and Mitt Romney, while Democratic strategists for Hillary Rodham Clinton, John Edwards, and Barack Obama faced off at the second forum.

But while the candidates represented at yesterday’s forum are generally not seen as serious challengers to the GOP and Democratic heavyweights, the panelists emphasized that the outcome of the 2008 campaign is largely uncertain.

“The road to the White House is long and windy and there are a lot of dead carcasses of presidents of the United States,” said Huckabee campaign manager Chip Saltsman.

The advisers were optimistic that their candidates could overcome their lack of name recognition and funding.

“This could be the first You-Tube campaign,” Tyler said.

“The money may not be that important,” he added.