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Former governor of Wisconsin and current candidate in a race for a U.S. Senate seat Tommy Thompson reflected on his career in politics and made predictions for the upcoming GOP presidential primary to a crowd at Union South on Saturday.

Thompson was asked for his thoughts on the Republican presidential nominees. He said while he knows and likes each one, he feels that Mitt Romney is most likely to win the nomination.

Thompson also said he expects the election to be a close one, and recommends supporting the candidate who he believes has the best chance.

“Let’s face it, Newt Gingrich isn’t going any place,” Thompson said. “In order for Santorum to get the nomination, he would have to, from now until the end of June, get 75 percent of all the delegates remaining. That’s not going to happen either. You may not like Romney, but he is going to be our nominee, and I think we should get behind him.”

A University of Wisconsin graduate, Thompson said he was thrilled to be back on campus and loved meeting and working with young people.

“Every time I’ve run for anything, I’ve always hired as many young people as I possibly can,” Thompson said. “They are hard workers, they are idealistic and they know how to get things done. That’s why I am here tonight, to challenge you to get involved in politics, to learn what’s going on and to help make a difference.”

He spoke about when he became governor, he was irritated that fresh graduates could not find jobs in Wisconsin and said he worked to create 722,000 jobs in 14 years.

Thompson also talked about his experiences as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. He said he took great pride in having traveled to many countries to help raise money to improve living conditions and health care services for people living in impoverished places. He looked back on one instance where he helped vaccinate children against polio.

“That was one of the most exciting days of my life, because I knew what I was doing was going to prevent that child from ever getting polio,” Thompson said. “It’s a powerful thing. But that’s what America’s all about. That’s why we have such a great country.”

During the speech, Thompson also described the vision he has for the country and his motivations for running for the Wisconsin Senate.

Thompson said his main goal is to balance the budget and reduce the debt for generations to come and leave the country a better place for the younger population.

Evan Bradtke, a spokesperson for UW College Republicans, said he was was thrilled Thompson was willing to come to campus to speak to students like himself.

“We as a chapter are not formally endorsing a candidate,” Bradtke said. “But it’s always a great opportunity to have someone who is running for statewide office to see us, and he gave an impressive presentation about his record and his vision.”