WI Senate Candidate Profile: Tommy Thompson

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) Long-time Wisconsin residents know him as our 42nd Governor.  Others remember him as Secretary of Health and Human Services in the George W. Bush Administration.  Later this year, Tommy Thompson hopes to add another title to his resume: US Senator.

In next week's primary, he hopes to fend off three republican challengers in what could be the most difficult race of Thompson's career.

After an unprecedented four terms as Wisconsin's Governor, Thompson is used to winning.  But a lot has changed in our state since the last time he was on a ballot.  "The state is really split between conservatives and liberals," he says.  "There's very little interaction."

Thompson points to successes working with a democrat-controlled legislature for most of his time in office as a reason why he deserves your vote.  "I had to work with them but I was able to convince them to cut taxes 91 times, eliminate welfare and under our leadership 742,000 jobs were created in this great state."  When asked how important Tea Party support will be in the primary, Thompson responded: "A very valuable role.  They believe very strongly in this country.  No one is more of a patriot than I am."

And it's his love of Wisconsin that Thompson believes sets him apart from rivals like Mark Neumann and Rric Hovde.  On Hovde, Thompson says "he hasn't lived in the state, he hasn't worked in the state.  He's tried to camouflage that.  He's lived in Washington DC all but 6 months of the year."

Thompson has dodged attacks that he once supported President Obama's health care reforms by asserting he's the only candidate to testify in Congress against the plan.  Last month in Racine, Thompson also aligned himself with Ted Nugent.  In the past, the conservative rock star has called President Obama "evil" and called his presidency an "America-hating administration.  We asked Thompson why he wanted to be associated with Nugent.  "He wanted to.  He wanted to come in," explains Thompson.  "He's a rock star.  He wanted to speak with me.  I wasn't going to turn him down."

If elected, the former Governor says he wants to preserve constitutional rights like the Second Amendment.  This father and grandfather stresses he's looking out for the next generation of Wisconsinites.  "I'm a workaholic," he says.  "No one works as hard as I do."