** FILE ** Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., announces he will run for another term in this Sept. 24, 2001 file photo in Nashville, Tenn. A Republican registering well in national polls as he flirts with a presidential run, the actor and former Tennessee senator is the talk of Washington's political elite, though he would be months behind his top competitors in building a campaign organization, raising money and securing support in key states. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)