Tommy Thompson Ends Speculation, Could Face Tammy Baldwin in Senate Race

Rep. Tammy Baldwin will face a name that Wisconsin voters know well in her bid to become the state's senator, the first openly gay senator in history.

Former four-term governor Tommy Thompson told a local radio station today that he's running for U.S. Senate. If he wins the Republican nomination, the former secretary of Health and Human Services will be a formidable candidate with name recognition from a career of service. But he hasn't won elected office since 1998, and his last campaign was for president of the United States.

Thompson isn't formally announcing his campaign yet. But at least he's ended the ambiguity about whether he would enter the fray.

"An announcement will be coming very soon," Thompson told WTMJ. "We're doing it in steps because that's what the federal law requires."

Thompson said he'd filed incorporation documents that will allow him to build a campaign organization and start raising money. Former Republican Congressman Mark Neumann is also running for the Republican nomination.

So far, though, Baldwin is the only Democrat to declare her candidacy, meaning she could skip over a tough primary season and instead use the time to focus on beating the eventual Republican nominee.