SNEAK PEEK: Mighty McCain at the Bat

October 15, 2007— -- The leading Republican presidential candidates take a break from the early voting states and convene in the nation's capital Tuesday for the Republican Jewish Coalition's "Victory 2008" Republican Presidential Candidates Forum and the Presidential Trust Dinner.

Sam Brownback, Rudy Giuliani, and John McCain participate in the morning session at the RJC forum at the Grand Hyatt in Washington and Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson drop by the afternoon session.

The Presidential Trust Dinner at the National Building Museum starts at 7:00 pm ET and features remarks from McCain, Romney, Thompson and Ron Paul.

ABC News' Christine Byun reports that in a speech to the New York Conservative party Monday night, Fred Thompson advocates for "smaller government, lower taxes, less regulation, and conservative judges."

"Some think the way to beat the Democrats in November is to be more like them," Thompson will tell the crowd. "I could not disagree more. I believe that conservatives beat liberals only when we challenge their outdated positions, not embrace them."

While he does not name Giuliani specifically in the excerpts of his speech made available by his campaign, Thompson's comments are expected to allude to Giuliani's political past, Byun reports.

Keep an eye on…

The presidential candidates have until 11:59pm ET Monday to file their third quarter reports with FEC. ABC News' Jan Simmonds reports that Rudy Giuliani spent more than he raised from July to September of 2007, dishing out $13 million while taking in $11.4 million.

The Iowa GOP state central committee convenes a meeting at 7:00 pm ET to vote on a caucus date for the Iowa GOP caucuses.

Voters head to the polls in Massachusetts' 5th District Tuesday for the special election to replace Rep. Marty Meehan (D- Mass.) who resigned from Congress on July 1, 2007. Niki Tsongas (D), the wife of the late Sen. Paul Tsongas takes on retired Lt. Col. Jim Ogonowski (R), whose brother was a pilot on one of the flights that hit the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.