Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson, who edged out John McCain for third place Thursday night, said he is the clear conservative choice and looks forward to the Jan. 8 New Hampshire primary.

Thompson joked at the Des Moines Marriott that it might take days to figure out whether he or John McCain finished third. With 95 percent of precincts reporting, Thompson led McCain by 273 votes, with both men receiving 13 percent of the vote.

"We have been waiting around till we got a lot of percent of the vote in, but that doesn't look like it is going to happen in a few days," Thompson told roughly 100 supporters. "I thought that I would come before you got too tired and went home, but it doesn't look like anyone is tired."

Thompson congratulated Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney and McCain as well as the other Republican candidates that participated in this process.

"You come away from this process with a real respect for everybody that puts (themselves) on the line and all their family and go out there and do the work," Thompson said. "We will have to look at the final numbers, we will have to look at our money situation and all of that, but it looks like somebody is going to carry on a strong consistent and conservative message and it looks like it ought to be me."

He also thanked U.S. Rep. Steve King, who endorsed Thompson and was at the event, and said that he made a new and a lifelong friend.

"It is not about padding our resume," he said as his reason for running for the presidency. "It is not personal ambition. It is about the greatest country in the history of the world, and the fact that we need to make sure that we pass onto the next generation the blessing that has been passed onto us and that is what it is all about."

A smattering of Thompson supporters watched the results come in at the Marriott Hotel early Thursday night before Thompson himself got there, waiting to see where their candidate would finish in the ranking.

Saying she was "not too surprised" that he finished in third place, Thompson supporter Michelle Adams was just relieved that he beat McCain.

"I think Thompson had a strong showing, and by finishing on top of McCain, he proved he is still a viable candidate," Adams said. "He has stayed a viable candidate in Iowa, which means he has a good shoot nationally."

Adams said she is not bothered by Thompson's mellow demeanor, nor does she see it as a sign that he is not passionate about his presidential bid.

"He doesn't present himself as something that he isn't," Adams said. "He doesn't put on a smile and pander to every voter he comes across. His attitude is much more of understanding that if it makes sense for an individual to vote for him, they will."

Labels: Republicans