Thompson to make a statement on campaign's future tomorrow

[MODU]

And he's out:

"Fred Thompson Quits Presidential Race"

Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson quit the Republican presidential race on Tuesday, after a string of poor finishes in early primary and caucus states.
"Today, I have withdrawn my candidacy for president of the United States. I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort," Thompson said in a statement.

Thompson's fate was sealed last Saturday in the South Carolina primary, when he finished third in a state that he had said he needed to win.

(Cont...)

[NHPolitico]

I think this boosts Romney's chances in FL.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

I think this boosts Romney's chances in FL.

Huckabee will probably be the main beneficiary.

[Mr. Morden]

I think this boosts Romney's chances in FL.

Huckabee will probably be the main beneficiary.

Yeah, but it probably won't be enough for Huckabee to win FL.  I think McCain and Romney are the two most likely candidates to win FL, and I'm guessing Romney would get at least a few more Thompson supporters than McCain.

[Gustaf]

I'd be cautious in assigning these voters though. It's hard to tell in a primary, after all. Especially given the fact that those who STILL stuck to Thompson at this stage must really, really dislike all the other candidates. I actually sort of doubt that many of them will go to Huckabee of all people.

[NHPolitico]

I think this boosts Romney's chances in FL.

Huckabee will probably be the main beneficiary.

Huck is an anti-federalist and federalism is what Fred preached.

[Gustaf]

For instance: in SC Thompson's best groups in church attendance were "never" and "weekly" while his worse group was "more than weekly". This is the opposite of Huckabee. In both Iowa and SC Thompson was actually stronger among non-born-agains than among born-agains. Generally, his supporters seem pretty spread out across the categories. The only parts that seem consistent from the Iowa and SC exit/entrance polls are that his support is high among those who vote on issues and then among those who think illegal immigration is the top issue (though in SC, weirdly, also terrorism) and also it is higher in the "very conservative" group.

This points a bit in all directions, but mostly, imo, to Romney. On the other hand, this could actually be the exact wrong thinking. If Thompson does well among "A-voters" one could think that since Romney has a high "A-voter-profile" they should go to Romney. But one could also think "why haven't they already picked Romney, despite being "A-voters"? Possibly, because they have something especially against him. I suspect that the Thompson support is so low and that the spread will be sufficiently even that it won't impact the race all that much (at least not now that Huckabee is already pretty much out).

[NHPolitico]

This points a bit in all directions, but mostly, imo, to Romney. On the other hand, this could actually be the exact wrong thinking. If Thompson does well among "A-voters" one could think that since Romney has a high "A-voter-profile" they should go to Romney. But one could also think "why haven't they already picked Romney, despite being "A-voters"? Possibly, because they have something especially against him. I suspect that the Thompson support is so low and that the spread will be sufficiently even that it won't impact the race all that much (at least not now that Huckabee is already pretty much out).

Fred voters have a problem with Mitt because they don't trust what he says. They don't care for McCain or Huck. Just following the standard conservative hacks like Limbaugh and Laura Ingraham and Ann Coulter and so on will demonstrate that Mitt is next on the list of acceptable candidates, and Fredheads are the people who follow people like Rush. Rush and the rest have been very open about their dislike of Huck and McCain. Some Fredheads won't vote at all, and it could be pretty high. But, Romney is clearly the next acceptable guy to them.