There may be a new contender for the Republican nomination for President – Fred Thompson. Thompson served as a US Senator from Tennessee from 1994 to 2003, but you may know him best as the District Attorney on Law & Order.

Thompson may be seen as a strong conservative in a field of Republicans presidential hopefuls whose views sometimes stray from the main Republican agenda. Thompson is pro-life, pro-gun and anti-gay marriage (he is not against individual States making a choice to have civil unions). I was surprised to find that Thompson has quite the political career. He has a law degree from Vanderbilt University and was assistant US attorney from 1969-1972. He has also acted as special counsel to the Governor of Tennessee and various Senate Committees.

In between his political career, he has also had a flourishing acting career.