Fred now raising funds

So reports the USA Today:

Former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson hasn't formally announced he'll run for the Republican presidential nomination -- but today he did begin raising money for a prospective bid, USA TODAY Washington bureau chief Susan Page writes. She continues:

In a conference call with about 100 people -- many of whom have urged him to jump in the race -- Thompson asked for their help in raising funds for a testing-the-waters committee, which is likely to be formed next week. That money could be used for a campaign when and if he's ready to run.

"I'm not saying anything against any of the candidates, but I think he can fill the vacuum that has not been filled yet on the Republican side," Mack Mattingly, a former U.S. senator from Georgia who was on the call, says of Thompson. He predicts the actor and former senator "will be just like a magnet" who can attract conservative Democrats and Republicans.