SALON

Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 2:45 PM UTC

Fred Thompson, too, breaks with GOP over Scozzafava

The former senator and presidential candidate cuts an ad backing a third-party candidate

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Topics: 2009 Elections, War Room, Doug Hoffman,

There’s a new star in the conservative movement. His name is Doug Hoffman, and he’s an unlikely figure to have risen to such prominence so quickly, seeing as how he’s running as a third-party candidate in a special election to fill a congressional seat traditionally held by a Republican.

But conservatives are unhappy with the Republican Party’s nominee, Dede Scozzafava; they think she’s too liberal. So big names like former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty have been getting behind Hoffman. Former Sen. Fred Thompson, too, has endorsed Hoffman — and now Thompson has filmed an ad for the independent.

Make no mistake, it’s a good ad; Thompson, who starred on “Law and Order,” is obviously good in front of a camera. There’s no reason to believe a former senator from Tennessee can move votes in an upstate New York congressional district, though. What Thompson can do, however, is bring more attention to Hoffman’s campaign on a national level, and raise more money for the candidate.

Alex Koppelman is a staff writer for Salon. More Alex Koppelman.

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