Tommy Thompson decides against run for Wisconsin governor

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republican former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson announced Monday that he won’t run again in a bid to take on the Democratic incumbent in the battleground state.

A campaign by the 80-year-old Thompson would have put him on the ballot for the first time in a decade and 24 years after his last win. The winner of the Aug. 9 primary will advance to face Gov. Tony Evers.

Thompson was elected to four terms starting in the 1980s.

Thompson’s entry would have shaken up an already crowded Republican field that includes former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, businessman and former Marine Kevin Nicholson and state Rep. Timothy Ramthun.