Thompson officially announces he’ll officially announce candidacy

Former Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee told supporters Thursday that he would formally enter the race for the Republican presidential nomination next week, with TV and Internet appearances designed to exploit the actor-politician’s celebrity.

Thompson, 65, has talked since spring about running for president, but has repeatedly put off an announcement as he replaced staffers and raised more than $3 million for the fledgling effort.

Thompson and his aides told donors and supporters in conference calls that he would officially launch the campaign Thursday with a webcast. Aides later confirmed the private announcement in an e-mail to reporters. A tour of the early-voting states Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina are to follow the kickoff.

Thompson’s campaign and NBC are trying to arrange an appearance by Thompson on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” on Wednesday, the night before the official kickoff. An NBC executive said Thursday that both sides were pursuing the booking but that his appearance was not confirmed.

The other Republican presidential contenders are scheduled to debate that night in New Hampshire. The Union Leader, the state’s largest newspaper, said in an editorial this week that Thompson, who has been exploring a campaign for months to the impatience of some Republicans, should enter the race and appear at the debate. But a Thompson appearance on the Leno show could eclipse the debate, and give the candidate an enormous audience in a friendly entertainment venue.

“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,” Thompson said in a statement e-mailed by his campaign.

Thompson shepherded few major bills during his eight years as a senator. As an actor, he is best-known for his role as New York Dist. Atty. Arthur Branch on the NBC drama series “Law & Order” and for his performances in such movies as “The Hunt for Red October.”

There is precedent for beginning a campaign on “The Tonight Show”: Arnold Schwarzenegger announced his gubernatorial campaign there in 2003.

By appearing on Leno’s show, Thompson will attempt to use his celebrity to “go over the heads of pundits,” in the words of one advisor.

In recent speeches, Thompson has also indicated a distaste for traditional position papers and policy stances. “To me there are a lot of issues,” he said dismissively to the Midwest Republican Leadership Conference on Saturday in Indianapolis. “Goodness knows we are not deprived of issues or solutions that people have.”

Instead, he has called for a focus on what he terms “first principles.” His speeches have identified three: a tough stance on national security, the will to control federal spending, and a limited role for the federal government.

As he tested the waters in recent months, Thompson largely avoided sustained questioning from the news media, and he attended few traditional political events. Instead, he has relied on commentaries and videos released online to communicate with voters. A webcast announcement fits that pattern.

“He’s going to hope his record won’t be scrutinized,” said Martin Kaplan, director of USC’s Norman Lear Center, a multidisciplinary research center that focuses on the intersection of entertainment, commerce and society. Kaplan was also an official with Democrat Walter F. Mondale’s 1984 presidential campaign.

“He won’t have to take questions from the press, and he can run solely on his image,” Kaplan said of Thompson.

The Thompson campaign said that the kickoff would be followed by appearances in Des Moines and Council Bluffs, Iowa, and that Thompson planned to visit New Hampshire on Sept. 8. The following week, he is scheduled to stop in South Carolina and Florida. His announcement tour ends Sept. 15 in his hometown of Lawrenceburg, Tenn.

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joe.mathews@latimes.com