Republican presidential candidate Tommy Thompson has raised the stakes for his own campaign. Thompson has repeatedly said he needs to have a top tier finish in the Iowa Republican Party's Straw Poll on August 11th. But Monday during a stop in Indianola, Thompson identified victory in the Straw Poll as his goal. The early victory will give him the ability to raise campaign cash, according to Thompson. "If I win the Straw Poll, I certainly will have no problem raising the dollars," Thompson said during an interview. "So concerning the Straw Poll, I've gotta win." Thompson has embarked on an R-V tour of the state in advance of the Ames Straw Poll. In this week alone Thompson plans to visit 44 different cities. "I couldn't be happier (or) more excited about the…'Common Sense Express Tour' that we're on," he says. Thompson, a former Wisconsin governor, met with a crowd of Republicans in Indianola Monday afternoon. Eighty-nine-year-old John J. Taylor of Indianola is a life-long Republican who says it's too soon to decide which candidate to back. "McCain is gone and Giuliani — uh huh — he can't make it," Taylor says, adding the rest of the Republican field has a "wonderful chance."
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