Fred Thompson and wife Jeri Kehn

WASHINGTON – Fred Thompson's political consultant wife, Jeri, is reportedly urging the former senator to make a bid for the presidency next year.

That's what columnist Robert Novak is reporting today.

According to the report, close friends of Thompson say his wife is urging him to announce for the GOP nomination this summer.

Jeri Kehn was a political media consultant at Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard and McPherson in the nation's capital when they married in 2002. She also previously worked for the Senate Republican Conference and the Republican National Committee.

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The former senator from Tennessee stars in "Law & Order" and has made a successful career for himself in TV and feature films.

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