Can the actor who’s played the part of President get the nomination?

The chart shows how punters on the Betfair market on the Republican nominee for next year’s White House have seen the past month.

The former mayor of New York, Rudy Giuliani, who made his name after September 11 is still favourite but the price has started to ease.

The market has moved early front-runner who lost out to George Bush in 2000, John McCain who has now drifted to fourth place.

Mitt Romney, the Mormon, has seen a steady build-up of market support while ex-movie actor turned politician Fred Thompson has now just edged into the second favourite slot.

Thompson has not formally entered the race yet and is said to be planning to do so on July 4th but his widely reported comments last week are being seen as confirmation that he will be up there.

In the polls Giuliani maintains a good lead but this race has a long way to go – in fact we might still be arguing about it in June 2008.

I got a small bet on Thompson a couple of months ago just as the speculation was starting to build. His great strength is that he looks the part – well he would wouldn’t he? – and ticks all the right boxes for a GOP hopeful. Like the great GOP actor tuned President, Ronald Reagan, Thompson has not got a reputation for hard work – something that a number of commentators suggest adds to his appeal! Also there isn’t that much conviction behind any of the other front-runners.

Mike Smithson