Former Governor Tommy Thompson says he hopes Scott Walker runs for president

MADISON (AP) — Former Gov. Tommy Thompson says now is the time for Gov. Scott Walker to run for president, and if he intends to run he needs to get in the race soon.

Thompson said Monday after Walker's inauguration ceremony that he told Walker to be bold and make a difference in his second term. Thompson says Walker smiled and told him he would do that.

Thompson ran for president briefly after he left public office in 2007, but dropped out after just four months when a straw poll showed him in sixth place.

Thompson says he should have run for president during his second term as governor in 1992. Thompson says, "I waited too long."

He says the sooner Walker gets in, the better his chances will be.