The American Pundit

It’s Dan Hughes, who was apparently Fred’s New Hampshire primary adviser.

Hughes is now the vice chairman of the McCain New Hampshire operation. He showed up Tuesday with McCain for the official filing of paperwork to participate in the New Hampshire primary.

Hughes quit Thompson’s team three days ago, and privately sources close to the Thompson campaign say the campaign had its differences with Hughes.

Hughes told FOX News that Thompson is not organizing in any way that indicates a serious candidacy and McCain is the “real deal.”

The Concord Monitor spoke with Hughes, too:

“Nothing happened. That’s why I left. If something happened, I’d still be there,” Hughes said. “What they need me for if they weren’t going to do anything?”

Hughes was the go-to guy for Thompson through the summer and last month, when Thompson became an official candidate. But Hughes has been disappointed with the showing from Thompson, who’s come to New Hampshire just once as a candidate and once before he came.

“I don’t want to be part of a campaign that’s going to say ‘Let’s write off New Hampshire.’ To me, that’s sacrilege,” Hughes said.

Hughes smelled a strategy that would forsake New Hampshire and focus on the South, where the former Tennessee senator and Law and Order star is seen as potentially strong.

Hughes is in Naples, FL. for the McCain camp, where he’s apparently laying out immigration policy. According to ABC News, the Thompson campaign will also be announcing its policy on immigration today:

 Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson on Tuesday plans to announce an immigration policy that will include stripping federal grant money from cities and states that don’t report illegal immigrants.

Thompson chose Collier County, which has a large farmworker population, for his announcement and plans to meet with the county’s sheriff, Don Hunter, before announcing details of his border security and immigration enforcement proposal.

A major part of the plan will be to reduce the number of illegal immigrants by increasing enforcement of existing law. Sanctuary cities, where city employees are not required to report illegal immigrants to federal authorities, would lose discretionary federal grants, said a campaign source who didn’t want to be named because the plan hasn’t been announced.

H/t Hot Air.