Fred Thompson stumps in Ohio

The Associated Press reports:

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson said Friday he is a solid conservative candidate who will not waver or change his positions to win political office.

In brief remarks to supporters at Ohio Republican Party headquarters, the former U.S. senator and actor alluded to fellow Republican candidate Mitt Romney without naming him.

“Where we stand on the issues doesn’t depend on where we’re standing and what political office we’re running for,” Thompson said, trying to stand out in a race where recent polls have showed his support dropping. Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, has received criticism for changing his position on a number of issues, including abortion.

Thompson emerged in the race with high hopes that he could win over a dissatisfied conservative GOP core. But his candidacy has failed to catch on in the way many expected it would. Upstart candidate and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who has lit a fire under social conservatives, has started to erode Thompson’s support.

Thompson spoke Friday to some of the criticism his campaign has received, comparing what pundits are saying now to what happened when he won his U.S. Senate seat in Tennessee in 1994 after trailing the incumbent by 20 points in the polls.

“Everybody says we started too late, everybody says he didn’t really have the fire in the belly, everybody says he’s not raising enough money,” Thompson said. “Election night we were 20 points ahead.” Thompson said his administration would emphasize the Republican mantra of a strong national defense, low taxes and reduced regulation, but his comments were largely devoid of specifics