The Ron Paul presidential campaign of 1988 began in early 1987 when former Congressman Ron Paul of Texas announced his candidacy for the 1988 presidential nomination of the Libertarian Party. He joined the third party after leaving the Republican Party over the Reagan administration's handling of the federal budget. He ran on a platform that included non-interventionism in foreign conflicts, decriminalization of illegal drugs on a federal level, a return to the gold standard, the abolition of the Federal Reserve and a reduction in all government spending.

Paul defeated Native American activist Russell Means at the Libertarian Party's National Convention in Seattle to win the party's presidential nomination. Former Alaska State representative Andre Marrou was selected as his running mate. After over a year of campaigning as the Libertarian Party nominee, Paul received very little media coverage, and was excluded from Presidential debates. On Election Day, he was on the ballot in 46 states and the District of Columbia, and finished in third place with approximately 0.47% of the vote, behind Democratic candidate Michael Dukakis and the winner Vice President George H.W. Bush.

Background[link]

Paul was elected to Texas's 22nd congressional district as a Republican during a special election early in 1976, and he supported Ronald Reagan's presidential bid that year.^[1] Paul lost his bid for re-election in late 1976, but was elected back to the seat in 1978. During his time in office, Paul followed the political and economic princles of laissez-faire advocate Ludwig von Mises, and gained a reputation as Dr. No, voting against legislation he felt was unconstitutional.^[2] He also advanced legislation establishing term limits for Congressmen, and opposed any implementation of a military draft.^[3] After serving four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, Paul vied for the 1984 Republican Party Senatorial nomination in Texas, and gained a reputation as an adept fundraiser. He was defeated in the primary and returned to his practice of obstetrics and gynecology^[4]

In January 1987, Paul officially left the Republican Party ^[5] to run for the Libertarian Party nomination after becoming disillusioned by the spending policies of the Reagan administration^[6] and presumptive Republican Presidential nominee George H.W. Bush.^[3] On leaving the party, Paul remarked: "Ronald Reagan has given us a deficit ten times greater than what we had with the Democrats. It didn't take more than a month after 1981, to realize there would be no changes."^[6] The Libertarian Party had courted Paul for the previous six years.^[7]

Campaign developments[link]

Libertarian Party nomination campaign[link]

Congressman Ron Paul

Ron Paul announced his candidacy for the Libertarian Party's presidential nomination on February 16, 1987 during a party luncheon in San Francisco, California. During his announcement speech, Paul commented that "Big government is running away with our freedom and our money, and the Republicans are just as much to blame as the Democrats." He later proclaimed himself as "a choice for freedom."^[4] According to Paul, Libertarian Party leaders notified him that there would be little opposition to his run^[4] at the party's September 1987 National convention.^[8]

Paul campaigned for the nomination for the most part of 1987, traveling to numerous state conventions.^[5] He visited Pennsylvania in April to discuss the Libertarian Party's platform with students from Penn State. Native American activist, and challenger to Paul, Russell Means of South Dakota also appeared at the event.^[9] Means had officially announced his Libertarian presidential nomination candidacy a day before Paul.^[5] While Means received heightened media attention for his comments regarding Native Americans and militancy, reports in the news media circulated that highlighted Paul's calls for the nation to return to the Gold Standard,^[10] and diminish the power of the Federal Reserve. Paul and Means were described as members of the right and left wing of the Libertarian Party, respectively.^[11]

By June, Paul was appearing at speaking events with Libertarian Vice Presidential candidate Andre Marrou.^[12] Marrou had previously served as a Libertarian member of the Alaska House of Representatives.^[13] The pair campaigned side-by-side in Idaho where Paul remarked "that a Libertarian can win the White House in the not-too-distant future." After that, Paul traveled west to address Libertarian Party officials in Washington and Oregon. By the end of the month, Paul had raised $200,000 for his campaign.^[11] As the convention approached, Paul was one of seven candidates vying for the party's nomination. However, he and Means were the only candidates mentioned in the press. Speculation that Marrou could be chosen as a compromise candidate also surrounded the event, at which 800 attendees were expected.^[14]

Libertarian National Convention[link]

The Libertarian National Convention, formally called the Culture of Freedom Conference and Presidential Nominating Convention, was held from September 2–6 at the Sheraton Hotel in Seattle, Washington.^[14] A forum featuring the four leading candidates was held prior to the nomination. Means tried to portray himself as a better candidate than Paul, dismissing the funds raised by Paul's campaign and commenting that Means was receiving "10 times more press" than the former Congressman and was therefore "100 times more effective." Another candidate expressed his desire to "put handcuffs on all IRS agents."^[15]

Paul was nominated on the first ballot with 196 of the 368 votes cast, with his closest opponent, Means, receiving 120 votes.^[16] He accepted the nomination and thanked the delegates with his wife, Carol, by his side.^[17] Marrou was selected as his running mate as the candidate for Vice President without any opposition. The platform for the party was also decided, and included the removal of all nuclear weapons from Europe, termination of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, withdrawal of all American troops abroad, prosecution of anyone who knowingly spreads AIDS and the legalization of hypodermic syringe possession. The Libertarian party’s official position is support of repealing Roe v. Wade and leaving abortion “remanded to the states.” Paul’s view, it happens, is pretty much the party line: It’s okay to restrict abortion at the state level, just not the federal one.^[18]

General election campaign[link]

Paul returned to the campaign trail and entered the General election stretch of the campaign a year ahead of the nominees for the two major parties. He traveled to Universities^[1][19] held press conferences^[20] and filmed an eight minute television advertisement, to be shown in small states and on cable television,^[7] to help spread his message.^[20] He focused on gaining enough support to win a place in the League of Women Voters-sponsored presidential debates.^[16]

Spreading the message[link]

Paul held one of his numerous press conferences in Helena, Montana, where he pushed for the Reagan administration to balance the budget and cut spending and taxes. He argued that Reagan had reneged on his 1980 campaign promise to balance the budget, resulting in voter dissatisfaction. Paul stated that Treasury Secretary James Baker should be removed from his office for the administration's monetary policy.^[20]

Paul was featured in the November 1987 issue of Texas Monthly. The article compared the campaign to that of former U.S. Senator Eugene McCarthy, and made note of Paul's opposition to the CIA's assistance of the Contras in Nicaragua. Journalist Tom Curtis described Paul's supporters as "a ragtag coalition of antiabortion activists, tax rebels, anti-war types, gold bugs and other anti-establishment, single issue voters."^[7] Curtis noted that Paul's monthly newsletter, The Ron Paul Investment Letter had 12,000 subscribers who paid an annual fee of $99.^[7]

Paul traveled to Rome, Georgia and appeared at the downtown Holiday Inn in November 1987. During the appearance, he railed against the policies of Washington D.C., commenting that there was no difference between the two major parties, and that both supported "intervention overseas, ... in our personal lives ... [and] in the marketplace." Paul went on to compare his Libertarian ideology to the mindset of the founding fathers.^[21] The next month, Vice Presidential nominee Andre Marrou traveled to Texas and discussed the Paul campaign's prospects. He opined that the ticket could possibly win 2 to 12 million votes in the following year's election, and that Paul might win if Jesse Jackson and Pat Robertson were selected as the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees, respectively. He explained that America did not want a preacher as president. Since the chance that either of those candidates would be named as their party's representative seemed unlikely, by this point in the election one of the campaign's priorities was securing a place on the ballot, which they had done in 20 of the 50 states.^[22]

"Kamikaze" campaign[link]

Paul arrived in North Florida for a campaign event in early January 1988, with ten months still remaining until the election. The event was chronicled by a journalist for the Ocala Star-Banner, who compared Paul to a kamikaze and remarked that he never gives up even though his "chance of becoming president" was no greater than that for the journalist himself. Paul was described as "slim, attractive, graying, immaculately attired and most articulate," but as a candidate who was dismissed by the media for his political positions such as support of the decriminalization of hard drugs.^[23] Paul visited the University of Florida during his trip, and gave a campaign speech in front of 200 students in the auditorium in Turlington Hall. Later in the month, he left Florida and campaigned in Iowa, where he spoke at Drake University and the University of Iowa.^[24] In February, he received the endorsement of Former Congresman Pete McCloskey (R-Calif.).^[24] He was also endorsed by comedian and talk-show host David Letterman,^[25] as well as psychologist and counterculture icon Timothy Leary, who held a fundraiser for Paul.^[26][27]

Paul had received little media attention during the early stages of the Democratic and Republican primary contests. But as Vice President George H.W. Bush and Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis secured their respective parties' nominations, mentions of Paul increased. It was noted that if Bush became unacceptable to conservatives, they would not turn to Dukakis, but would most likely vote for Paul as a protest.^[28] During this time, publications also started discussed Paul's tax policy. It called for a flat income tax rate of 10% on all earnings over $10,000 annually.^[29] Paul sold his tax plan while campaigning in Utah. In front of 250 people in Kane County, he hailed California's 1978 passage of Proposition 13 as starting the "tax revolt and [sending] a message across the country. The next big message for this country should be the overwhelming passage of the tax initiatives ... in November."^[30] Paul was also part of C-SPAN's program Road to the White House, which followed different candidates on the campaign trail. In June, they aired Paul's address to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.^[31][32]

During a July press conference in Spokane, Washington, while lobbying for ballot access, Paul promised that as president he would veto spending increases for both domestic programs and the military. He asked in reference to the portrayal of his party's plank, "what's extreme about a balanced budget?" Paul conceded that he would not win the election but explained that votes for his ticket would give a bigger voice to Libertarian issues in American politics, and that he would only be disappointed if he did not receive at least 5% of the vote in the state.^[33] A few weeks later, The New York Times discovered that many former members of the Pat Robertson campaign were helping Ron Paul's candidacy. They found that the campaign workers were disseminating literature in Michigan that criticized Bush, and stated that Paul would "carry the standard" of the free market. Paul commented in a San Diego Union interview that he "identif[ied]with Robertson" although "he's not a libertarian." Paul spent the beginning of August, campaigning in his home state of Texas.^[34]

Final stages[link]

In August, Republicans began to argue that a vote for Paul would equate to a vote for Dukakis.^[36] Later in the month, Republicans grew weary of Dan Quayle as the party's Vice presidential nominee. Paul commented that "we like Dan Quayle. We also like George Bush and Mike Dukakis. They have been the best recruiters we have."^[35] He explained that the Libertarian Party was receiving around 100 calls a day from people interested in the party because "a large number of Americans are disenchanted with the choice they have."^[35] Paul held a rally in Salt Lake City that drew 200 supporters, and proclaimed that he "wouldn't be surprised if we got 20% of the vote in Utah."^[35]

By October 1988, the campaign had secured ballot access in 46 states and the District of Columbia,^[37] and newspapers across the nation began running editorials and letters supporting Paul's run, and criticizing the low volume of media coverage.^[38] The New York Times chronicled Paul's campaign in late October. Paul's 25 year old son, Rand Paul who served as the aide-de-camp, was interviewed and explained that Paul had raised $2 million, $500,000 of which was spent on ballot access. Paul had spent $40,000 a month on traveling expenses.^[1] Just prior to Election Day, Paul predicted a low voter turnout.^[39]

Results[link]

Paul finished in third place on Election Day, far behind Dukakis and the victorious George H.W. Bush. He received 431,750 votes, which made up 0.47% of the overall vote. The largest percentage won by Paul came in Alaska, where he received 2.74%. In Washington, he missed his goal of 5% with a 0.92% showing. In Utah, Paul received 1.16%.^[40]

Aftermath[link]

Paul speaks at the University of Pittsburgh during his 2008 presidential run

After the election, Paul was speculated to run for president in 1992 but opted instead to work on the campaign for Pat Buchanan.^[41] That year, Marrou received the Libertarian presidential nomination.^[13] Paul later returned to the Republican Party and was re-elected to his seat in Congress in 1996, without much support from establishment Republicans, who supported the party-switching Democratic incumbent.^[26] Back in Congress, Paul regained his nickname of Dr. No, favoring a free market and advocating a reduction in the size of the federal government. He was drafted to challenge President George W. Bush in the 2004 Republican primaries, but chose not to run.^[42] He ran for president again in 2008 and 2012 as a Republican, attracting a large amount of grassroots support.^[43]

References[link]

v t e Ron Paul Political positions · Electoral history · 1988 presidential campaign · 2008 presidential campaign · 2012 presidential campaign · Campaign for Liberty · Young Americans for Liberty Legislation American Sovereignty Restoration Act · Family Education Freedom Act · Federal Reserve Transparency Act · Sanctity of Life Act Books A Foreign Policy of Freedom: Peace, Commerce, and Honest Friendship · The Revolution: A Manifesto  · End the Fed  · Liberty Defined Related Bibliography · Austrian School · Moneybomb · Trevor Lyman · Rand Paul · Paulville, Texas · Draft Ron Paul movement · 2009 Tea Party protests

This article is in a list format that may be better presented using prose. You can help by converting this article to prose, if appropriate. Editing help is available. (September 2009)

The Ron Paul presidential campaign of 2008 began in early 2007 when Congressman Ron Paul of Texas announced his candidacy for the 2008 Republican nomination for President of the United States. Initial opinion polls during the first three quarters of 2007 showed Ron Paul consistently receiving support from 3% or less of those polled. In 2008, Paul's support among Republican voters remained in the single digits, and well behind front-runner John McCain.^[1]

During the fourth quarter of 2007, Paul was the most successful Republican fundraiser, bringing in approximately $20 million.^[2][3] He also received the most money from the armed services of any candidate in the fourth quarter.^[4] Ron Paul's campaign set two fund raising records: the largest single day donation total among Republican candidates and twice receiving the most money received via the Internet in a single day by any presidential candidate in American history.^[5] Paul's run for president is also noted for its grassroots social networking, facilitated by the Internet.^[6] Ron Paul's enthusiastic supporters were noted by the media, who called them "Paulites".^[7][8] Paul receives most of his contributions from individuals, at ninety-seven percent; compare to other candidates.^[9]

As of February 5, 2008, Paul had won sixteen delegates to the Republican National Convention, placing him last amongst the four Republican candidates still in the race at that time.^[10] The campaign projected on February 6 to have secured at least 42 delegates to the national convention.^[11] On March 4, 2008, John McCain earned enough pledged delegates to become the Republican presumptive nominee, but Ron Paul decided to continue his run.^[12] Ron Paul released The Revolution: A Manifesto on April 29, which collected essays based on thoughts that arose from his experiences running for president in 2008. The book went on to be a #1 bestseller among political books on Amazon.com^[13] and the New York Times nonfiction list.^[14]

On June 12, 2008 Paul announced that he was ending the presidential campaign, investing the more than $4.7 million of remaining campaign contributions to build up the new advocacy group Campaign for Liberty.^[15] Although he suspended his campaign, he appeared on the ballot in Montana^[16] and Louisiana^[17] in the 2008 general election. He was also listed in some states as a write-in candidate. He received over 47,000 votes, giving him the eighth highest popular vote total in the election.^[18]

Campaign developments[link]

These are events related to Ron Paul's official 2008 campaign. For events related to the independent grassroots movement around him (the "Ron Paul Revolution"), see Grassroots campaign efforts.

First quarter 2007[link]

Ron Paul formed a presidential exploratory committee on January 11.^[19] He also acquired data on public interest in his running for President around February 19.^[20] Based on the results from the exploratory committee and polling, Paul officially entered the race on March 12.^[20][21]

In a February CNN landline opinion poll, Paul was the candidate with the least name recognition besides John H. Cox.^[22] On March 20, Paul signed the American Freedom Agenda Pledge.^[23][24]

Second quarter 2007[link]

On June 30, 2007, in Des Moines, Iowa, Iowans for Tax Relief and the Iowa Christian Alliance invited all Democratic Party candidates and all Republican presidential candidates except Paul to a presidential candidates forum. Six candidates appeared: Mitt Romney, Sam Brownback, Jim Gilmore, Mike Huckabee, Tommy Thompson, and Tom Tancredo.^[25] In July, the New York Times wrote that Paul's "message draws on the noblest traditions of American decency and patriotism."^[26]

Third quarter 2007[link]

Paul participated in the Ames Straw Poll in Ames, Iowa on August 11. He ranked fifth out of 11 candidates, receiving 9.1 percent of the votes.^[27][28] According to John Fout, on TheStreet.com, Paul "shocked people in Iowa" by receiving more than 9 percent of the vote after making only three trips to Iowa, releasing ads only one week before the poll, and for beating Tommy Thompson, who visited all 99 counties in Iowa.^[29] In an interview about the results of the straw poll, fellow candidate Mike Huckabee, who placed second, said that Ron Paul was the candidate most likely to overtake him nationally, saying, "I'm keeping an eye on him."^[30]

During the Straw Poll Ron Paul supporters gathered to form a parade, that marched hundreds of people many of whom bore colonial costumes and drum and fife instruments, flags and other around the ISU grounds for hours chanting back and forth slogans that would later be used in many marches and events throughout the campaign.

Fourth quarter 2007[link]

On October 25, work began among Ron Paul's supporters to commemorate the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, starting with the Web-site TeaParty07.com.^[31] In support of the rally, Paul supporters purchased a blimp to display campaign messages to observers.^[32] On December 16, 2007, Ron Paul supporters re-enacted the dumping of tea into Boston Harbor by tossing banners that read "Tyranny" and "no taxation without representation" into boxes that were in the harbor.^[33] Ron Paul supporters also gathered in several other cities as part of the Tea Party re-enactment, including Strasbourg, France, Santa Monica, California, Maui, Hawaii, and Freeport and Austin, Texas.^[34][35] Paul himself tossed a barrel labelled "Iraq War" overboard at the Tea Party Re-enactment in Freeport, Texas.^[36] The Austin Police Department estimates 2000 to 3000 attendees at the Austin Tea Party.^[34][35][37]

Paul's first major television campaign began November 8, at a total cost of US$1.1 million, started advertising in New Hampshire.^[38]

Mid November, 2007 Operation: Live Free or Die, An effort to bring volunteers to campaign door to door in New Hampshire was started by Google employee Vijay Boyapati. His idea to rent a few houses to hold volunteers turned into 14 houses with over 600 people arriving in New Hampshire to knock on doors, organize marches, phone bank at the Concord and Nashua Headquarters. Ron Paul visited OLFD volunteers at a local restaurant owned by a member of the Free State Project called Murphy's Pub, a frequent establishment for FSP members, to thank them in person for their dedication.

On Jan 7, 2007 many of these volunteers worked at polling stations across the state and later held a party which Ron Paul attended and spoke. Many of these volunteers, including Vijay went on to other states to continue the efforts. On December 1, 2007, the Los Angeles Times declared Paul a player in the presidential campaign.^[39] The Libertarian Party adopted a resolution on December 12 urging Paul to run on the Libertarian ticket if he does not get nominated by the Republican Party.^[40]

In December 2007, the Associated Press reported that Paul kept a US$500 donation from Don Black, operator of Stormfront, a white nationalist organization website. Paul's campaign stated that "If someone with small ideologies happens to contribute money to Ron, thinking he can influence Ron in any way, he's wasted his money," responding that they would spend the money on spreading "the message of freedom" and "inalienable rights".^[41]

CBS News reported on December 21 that "Ron Paul can no longer be dismissed as the favorite of the fringe".^[42]

Many presidential candidates released apolitical Christmas-themed advertisements.^[43] Paul was the first nationally recognized candidate to post such an ad on YouTube. In the ad, Paul's family sings a rendition of "Deck the Halls" amid a brief narrative from Paul wishing the viewer "an absolutely great 2008".^[43] CBS News described it as portraying Paul as "warm and fuzzy", with fewer religious overtones than other candidates'.^[43]

Paul was questioned on Meet the Press by Tim Russert for asking that US$400 million in previously earmarked funds be directed back to his district for water projects, a nursing program, to expand a hospital cancer center and US$10 million to promote Texas shrimp.^[44][45] On Meet the Press, Paul defended his bid for the earmarked funds saying he never voted for an earmark in his life. Russert said Paul's statement was like saying, "you voted for it before you voted against it."^[46] Congressman Paul responded,"I put them in because I represent people who are asking for some of their money back, ... I'm against the tax system, but I take all my tax credits. I want to get their money back for the people."^[44]

First quarter 2008[link]

On January 7, Paul's campaign launched an eight-state TV ad campaign for California, Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, North Dakota, Louisiana, Maine and Florida.^[47] That was in addition to the campaigns in New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Also on January 15, James Giles, writing for The Bulletin of Philadelphia, said that Paul represented "the dominant foreign policy consensus in the Republican Party from 1920 to 1952."^[48]

Ron Paul campaigned heavily in Nevada, more than Mitt Romney, the only other candidate to go there.^[49][50] On January 17, Paul's Nevada campaign representatives warned state GOP officials that thousands of caucus-goers had been given wrong caucus locations. A correction was put onto the Nevada GOP website that morning, two days before the caucuses.^[51] Then Paul's campaign criticized inconsistencies, confusion over rules, and a shortage of ballots in some counties. They asked the state Republican Party to consider postponing the vote because of those problems and others, such as unclear rules on who could vote.^[52]

In January, Paul released an economic revitalization plan^[53] and named Peter Schiff and Don Luskin economic advisors to the campaign.^[54][55] The National Taxpayers Union found that among the remaining presidential candidates, only Paul proposed sufficient federal spending cuts to more than offset new spending plans.^[56]

In February, suicide terrorism expert professor Robert Pape joined the campaign as foreign policy advisor; Ivan Eland and Leon Hadar also joined Paul's foreign policy team.^[57]

After Romney left the race in February, leaving John McCain strongly favored to win the nomination, Paul e-mailed his supporters on February 8 and stated that he was refactoring his presidential campaign to be "leaner and tighter" and would devote a significant portion of his time specifically to his campaign for reelection to the U.S. House, representing Texas's 14th congressional district, where Paul is being challenged for the Republican nomination by Friendswood mayor pro tem Chris Peden. Paul recognized a nearly zero chance of a brokered convention. He was determined to continue in every caucus and primary remaining and promised not to campaign for president for another party.^[58] Staffer Dan McCarthy clarified in a blog post on February 9 that Paul's presidential campaign "is not ending, not being suspended, and not even drawing down", stating that "[a] few news sources are misreporting Ron Paul’s e-mail from last night."

On February 11, Ron Paul posted a video via YouTube and his campaign website in which he states that he would like to organize a march on Washington in order to show the support he has received and give his campaign a boost in the presidential race.^[59]

On March 4, John McCain earned enough delegates to become the Republican nominee. Mike Huckabee dropped from the race as a result,^[60] but Ron Paul decided to continue his run, having successfully defended his congressional seat.^[12]

On March 8, Paul released a video to his supporters^[61] acknowledging that he would not be able to win the nomination, interpreted by some news sources^[62][63] as a hint that the campaign was over. Ron Paul's son Rand Paul publicly denied the allegations and stated the campaign "will continue to contest the remaining primaries."^[64] On March 10, Ron Paul appeared on CNN's American Morning to explain that he has not withdrawn from the race and he will keep campaigning to keep his ideas in the arena, and to fulfill an obligation to his supporters in states that have not yet held primaries.^[65]

It's not over; it's certainly winding down, there are a lot less primaries left. Super Tuesday has passed, and McCain has the nominal number. But if you're in a campaign for only gaining power, that's one thing. If you're in a campaign to influence ideas and the future of the country, the campaign is never over.^[66]

—Ron Paul, American Morning

Ron Paul newsletter controversy[link]

In early 2007, several political commentators, including Ryan Sager of The New York Sun,^[67] David Weigel of Reason magazine,^[68] and blogger Edward Morrissey of Captain's Quarters,^[69] published articles discussing politically-oriented newsletters that had been published under Paul's name in the 1980s and 1990s and that had been the subject of controversy in Paul's 1996 congressional campaign. However, at that early stage in the 2008 presidential campaign, the newsletters controversy attracted little attention.

That changed on January 8, 2008, the day of the New Hampshire primary, when The New Republic published a story by James Kirchick filled with quotes from the newsletters.^[70] Kirchick said that the writings showed "an obsession with conspiracies, sympathy for the right-wing militia movement, and deeply held bigotry," and were "saturated in racism," charges echoed by Kevin Drum of the Washington Monthly's Political Animal blog.^[71] Kirchick noted that one article referred to African-American rioters as "barbarians" and suggested that the Los Angeles riots of 1992 only stopped when it came time for "blacks to pick up their welfare checks". An article entitled "The Pink House" said that "homosexuals, not to speak of the rest of society, were far better off when social pressure forced them to hide their activities."^[70] Other issues gave tactical advice to local militia groups on how to evade detection by the authorities and advanced various conspiracy theories.^[70]

Paul denounced the reporting on these newsletters as “old news that has been rehashed for over a decade … once again being resurrected for obvious political reasons.”^[72] In a statement put out by his campaign, Paul said further that “the quotations in The New Republic article are not mine and do not represent what I believe or have ever believed. I have never uttered such words and denounce such small-minded thoughts.” He blamed the articles on several ghostwriters who had contributed to the newsletters, which he said he did not edit, while he was busy practicing medicine full-time.^[72]

In an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, Paul asserted that racism is incompatible with his beliefs and that he sees people as individuals, not as part of collectives. He also dismissed the attack as an attempt to accuse him of racism by proxy, claiming that he had collected more money among African Americans than any other Republican candidate.^[73]

In his defense, many of Paul's supporters noted that Nelson Linder, president of the Austin, Texas chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), speaking outside of his official capacity as an officer of the NAACP, had spoken favorably of Paul in radio interviews.^[74][75] Just days after The New Republic article was published, Linder said in an interview that he had been acquainted with Paul for 20 years and felt Paul was “a very honorable guy” whose libertarian positions were being misunderstood by a lot of people. “[H]e's got some very good ideas. But I think the problem is, from an African-American perspective, when you talk about state vs. Federal power.... when you talk about states' rights and the Confederacy, and those kinds of things, sometimes it gets taken out of context.... you attract people sometimes who are still fighting the Civil War.”^[75]

Second quarter 2008[link]

Ron Paul was invited to speak at the University of Pittsburgh on April 3, 2008.

Ron Paul campaigned through Pennsylvania in anticipation of the April 22 primary, including two stops in his birth place of Pittsburgh at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and the University of Pittsburgh.^[76][77] He also made several campaign stops in Montana.^[78] He was the keynote speaker at the April 26 Nevada Republican State Convention, where his supporters comprised over 2/3 of the 1200 some attendees.^[79] Paul's supporters used their super-majority to allow any state delegate to be considered for the position of national delegate, rather than voting on an pre-approved small slate of possible national delegates. Ron Paul is expected to capture most or all of Nevada's 31 delegates to the RNC as a result.^[80][81] The main purpose, according to Paul supporters, is not to make Ron Paul the nominee but to influence the official RNC party platform so it adopts several of the issues advocated by the Texas congressman.^[82]

In Missouri, some 145 "suspected" Ron Paul supporters were barred from participating in the state selection process or from being delegates to the national convention by local GOP party leaders. This has led to accusations of procedural violations on the part of state GOP leaders by Republican voters.^[83][84]

The Independent Greens of Virginia (IGVA) petitioned to have Ron Paul as their vice-presidential nominee, putting him on a ticket with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Paul himself had nothing to do with the nomination, and was only a placeholder candidate who was later replaced as the vice-presidential candidate on the IGVA ticket by Darrell Castle, running mate of Chuck Baldwin.^[85]

On June 26, Kent Snyder, Ron Paul's campaign chair, died of viral pneumonia, leaving $400,000 in unpaid medical bills. Other staffers on Paul's campaign started a collection service to help pay for Snyder's remaining medical bills, as the campaign did not provide its workers with health insurance.^[86][87][88]

In Nevada on June 28, Ron Paul delegates reconvened the state convention to elect national delegates to the RNC. They cited a rule that when the chair of the previous meeting called recess without a vote by the delegates, it broke the rules, meaning that the previous state convention never concluded. From this new convention, Ron Paul was awarded all of Nevada's national delegates, winning him the state. The Nevada Republican Party challenged the results and elected their own national delegates.^[89] Nevada party officials later decided to not have a convention and have the issue decided by the party's executive board via conference call.^[90] The RNC rejected the delegates chosen by both groups, eventually granting Paul four of the state's delegates and the rest to McCain.^[91][92][93]

On June 12, 2008, Paul announced that he was suspending the presidential campaign, investing the more than $4.7 million of remaining campaign contributions to build up the new advocacy group Campaign for Liberty.^[15]

Polling[link]

In polling conducted at the Utah GOP convention on June 9, 2007, Paul placed second behind Mitt Romney.^[94] Paul also placed second in the straw poll conducted at the National Taxpayers Union conference, following Fred Thompson.^[95] Ron Paul placed second, polling 17 percent, in a Cobb County GOP straw poll on July 4, 2007.^[96]

Ron Paul placed third in the Illinois Straw Poll on August 16, 2007, with 18.87 percent of the vote, polling just 0.4 percent behind undeclared candidate Fred Thompson. Paul won the similar West Alabama Republican Assembly 2007 Presidential Preference Straw Poll on August 18, 2007, capturing 216 of 266 votes (81 percent), ahead of second place Mitt Romney^[97] On August 18. Paul won the South Sound Ronald Reagan Republican Club's straw poll on August 21 in Snohomish County, Washington, with 30 percent of the vote, with Fred Thompson coming in second with 27 percent.^[98]

On November 20, 2007, Ron Paul finished fourth behind fellow Republicans Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, and Fred Thompson in a Zogby International "blind bio" poll of likely Republican voters. However, Paul was first when Democrats and Independents were included in the survey. The poll presented potential voters with descriptions of each candidate's resume rather than candidate names.^[99]

National polls conducted in January 2008 showed Paul with an average of just under 5% among Republican candidates.^[100]

Primary/caucus results[link]

Early states - January[link]

Ron Paul finished fifth in the 2008 Iowa Republican caucuses with nearly 10 percent of the votes and 2 delegates according to CNN.^[101][102] At the January 5, 2008, Wyoming Republican County Conventions, Ron Paul placed fourth, receiving no delegates.^[103] The Wyoming primary was largely ignored by candidates in favor of the higher-profile race in New Hampshire, but four candidates did campaign there,^[104] including Paul. The majority of the 1224 eligible voters at the conventions were elected in 2006.^[105]

Paul received 8 percent of the vote in the January 8 New Hampshire primary, finishing fifth in the Republican field and receiving no delegates.^[106][107] Though he had hoped to improve on his Iowa performance, he vowed to stay in the race, telling supporters, "It's really only the beginning."^[108] A recount, which Paul does not support, began January 16, 2008.^[109][110] Paul placed fourth in the January 15, 2008, Michigan Republican primary, with 6 percent of the votes and no delegates.^[111]

Paul finished second in the January 19 Nevada Republican caucuses with 14 percent of the vote,^[112] finishing behind Mitt Romney and earning an estimated four delegates to the national convention.^[113] Paul finished fifth in the January 19 South Carolina Republican primary, with 4 percent of the vote and no delegates.^[114][115]

The Louisiana Republican caucuses were held on January 22, 2008. Official results have not yet been reported; preliminary results show Ron Paul in second place among candidates.^[116][117] On January 26, the Paul campaign filed a complaint with the state GOP contesting Louisiana's process of choosing delegates.^[118]

The Florida primary was held on January 29, 2008, and was a state-wide winner-take-all contest for all 57 of Florida's delegates.^{[119][120][121][122]} Philadelphia Inquirer noted that Paul did not campaign in the state,^[123] and he finished in fifth place with 3% of the vote.^[124] LA Times listed Florida as part of an eight state radio ad campaign by Paul during January 2008.^[47]

Ahead the 3 day Maine caucus before Super Tuesday, Paul was the only Republican candidate to visit the state.^[125] Paul held campaign events, including a rally at the Maine State House on January 28, 2008.^[126] The week before the caucus, Paul said that he was hoping for a "grand showing" in the state.^[127][128] With 74.7% of the precincts counted, Paul placed third in the voter preference tally with 19%.^[129] National delegates are assigned to candidates May 2 when state delegates hold their convention. Paul earned 35% of the state delegates to take second place.^[130]

"Super Tuesday", February 5, 2008[link]

In West Virginia, Ron Paul spoke at the GOP convention alongside Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee.^[131] Paul came in a distant fourth (10%) in the first vote by the state GOP convention and was eliminated for the second round, with McCain eliminated next. Paul's and McCain's supporters voted for Mike Huckabee.^[132] Paul's campaign stated that they had a deal with Huckabee to get 3 delegates in exchange for the support they gave to him.^[133][134] The Huckabee campaign has not confirmed that.^[135]

Paul's best showings were in Montana, with 25% for second place and no delegates, third in the North Dakota caucus with 21% and five delegates, third in Alaska with 17% and five delegates,^[136] and third in Utah with 3%. In that day's 16 other primaries and caucuses (Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee), Paul finished fourth among current candidates. (He placed fifth in California overall, as Giuliani received absentee ballots.^[137])

Paul received 4% of the popular vote among all Super Tuesday states.^[138]

Later February and March 2008[link]

New Year's debate rally for Ron Paul in Vancouver, Washington

On February 9, Kansas, Louisiana, and Washington held their contests. In the Kansas caucuses, Ron Paul finished third, with 11% and no delegates.^[139] In the Louisiana primary, Paul finished third among current candidates (fourth overall, as Romney was still on the ballot) with 5%, though no delegates were at stake.^[140] In the Washington state caucuses, Paul placed third, with 22%, behind Huckabee (24%) and McCain (26%). Nearly half of Washington's delegates are picked at this caucus and the rest in the primary February 19, 2008.^[141]

On the February 12 Potomac Primaries, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC, held their contests. Paul came in third among current candidates in each of them, receiving 6% in Maryland, 4% in Virginia, and 8% in the District of Columbia.^[142] A Fox News exit poll showed that in Virginia, 20% of independent voters voting in the Republican races voted for Paul.^[143]

In the two February 19 primaries, Paul came in third in Wisconsin with 5% and fourth in Washington state's follow-up primary (8%), even though he was third in the state's caucus with 22%. Paul placed third in the caucus of Puerto Rico (4.33%), tied with Mike Huckabee for second place in the Northern Mariana Islands caucus (4.35%), and has an unknown standing in the American Samoa caucus.

In the four Republican primaries on March 4, Paul came in third in every state. He earned 5% in Texas and Ohio and 7% in Vermont and Rhode Island.^[144]

Mississippi held their Republican primary on March 11, 2008. Paul finished 3rd with 4% of the vote.^[145]

Second quarter 2008[link]

In three early April Minnesota state delegate conventions, Paul picked up 6 national delegates from the 12 at stake; they are allowed to vote for any candidate regardless of caucus results.^[146] The Nevada GOP convention had to be suspended when GOP leaders realized that Paul supporters were going to win delegates in the proceedings.^[147] Further conventions will occur in May.

In the April 22 Pennsylvania Primary, Ron Paul finished second with 16% of the vote overall.^[148] Paul and Mike Huckabee, who was also on the ballot, did best in Pennsylvania's conservative regions.^[149] In the May 6 primaries in Indiana and North Carolina, Paul earned 8% of the vote in both states.^[150][151] In the May 13 West Virginia primary, Paul received 5% of the vote.^[152] In the May 20 primaries, Paul received 15% of the vote plus 4 national delegates in Oregon and 7% in Kentucky.^[153][154]

Paul won 24 percent of the vote in the May 27 Idaho Republican primary, which was his best showing in a primary state.^[155][156]

Delegate count[link]

Fundraising[link]

Paul's fundraising increased significantly over the campaign. The campaign holds an all-time record for political one-day fund-raising.^[5] The Paul campaign disclosed donations immediately, instead of on a quarterly basis.

Among active campaigns in February 2008, Ron Paul's had the smallest payroll as a portion of funds raised – only 8 percent of campaign funds, or $1.5 million.^[157]

Sources[link]

100% of Paul's campaign money comes from individual contributors,^[158] with 47 percent of the funds raised from small contributions of $200 or less.^[159]

As of February 14, 2008, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Air force members represent three top contributors to Ron Paul's campaign, respectively.^[160]

First quarter - 2007[link]

Ron Paul raised more money in New Hampshire in the first quarter of 2007 than presumed Republican front-runners John McCain and Rudy Giuliani. As of March 31, 2007, Paul had raised $63,989 for his campaign nationwide. Of that, he had spent US $15,070, giving him $47,919 cash-on-hand.^[161]

Second quarter - 2007[link]

As of the end of the second quarter 2007, Ron Paul had over US$2.4 million in the bank, which was more than John McCain, who had $2 million. He outraised every second-tier candidate, and was fourth in fund-raising among the Republicans, behind the three frontrunners.^[162]

Third quarter - 2007[link]

Paul's campaign raised $5.08 million in the third quarter, increasing 114% over the previous quarter. After he began realtime publication of fundraising totals in September 2007, an end-of-quarter fundraiser raised an unexpected $1.2 million in one week; the projected amount had been $500,000. The campaign outperformed "front-runner" candidates; Paul fundraising, measured in itemized donations (over US$200), exceeded that of Giuliani, Romney, and Thompson in many states. ABC News also reported that Paul received more donations from serving members of the armed services than any other GOP candidate. At the close of the quarter, the campaign reported US$5.4 million on hand, more than John McCain, having spent only 34 percent of the proceeds of the preceding three quarters.^[163]

Fourth quarter - 2007[link]

Fundraising efforts by state.

As of December 31, Ron Paul raised $19,765,974 in the fourth quarter, bringing him to roughly $28 million total. His fourth quarter donations came from 130,000 donors, including over 100,000 new contributors.^[164] Ron Paul raised more money than any other Republican candidate in the fourth quarter.^[165][166] The second highest total raised was by Rudy Giuliani, who got $14.4 million before dropping out of the race.^[165] Mitt Romney raised $9 million in the fourth quarter from contributors,^[167] but lent himself $18 million of his own money, giving him the largest total.^[3][165] According to the campaign, Paul's donations average $100 per donor^[3] Compared to Democratic candidates, Paul's fourth quarter total was close to Hillary Clinton's, who raised approximately $20 million.^[168]

Ron Paul received more money from donors in the military, over $200,000, than any other candidate, Democrat or Republican.^[169]

First quarter - 2008[link]

In the month of March 2008, Ron Paul raised a little over $120,000, though his campaign financial records show him to have $5.1 million cash on hand. Paul's fund raising in 2008 was overall far less than in the previous quarter.^[170]

Second quarter - 2008[link]

With roughly $4 million cash on hand left, "[Ron Paul's campaign] is exploring the option of using the remaining campaign funds to establish a for-profit publishing company aimed at producing educational materials."^[171] The money would eventually be put towards founding Campaign for Liberty.

Internet popularity[link]

Paul participated in several 2008 GOP debates, the majority of which he won according to the sponsors' own online or text-message phone polls.^[172] After the first debate, ABC News noted that Paul has a "robust online presence."^[173] TIME magazine labels Paul "the new 2.0 candidate" in reference to "his success recruiting supporters through new social media channels".^[174] The New York Times wrote that his campaign "snowballed on the Internet".^[6] According to KDPaine and Partners, Ron Paul's YouTube videos made up half of the top ten of all candidate videos, and he had the largest overall viewership of any candidate.^[175] Jack Cafferty stated that Ron Paul's followers "at any given moment can almost overpower the Internet."^[176]

Forbes.com noted a disparity between Paul's online support and his performance in the primaries: while Paul supporters responded in droves to text-message and online polls following televised debates, he received 10% of the vote in Iowa and 8% in New Hampshire. David Thorburn, director of the MIT Communications Forum, said that while the Internet is a major source of fundraising, it is not yet able to compete with traditional media for influence in campaigns. Thorburn added that support from "an intellectually elite minority that lives in cyberspace does not translate into support among the general population."^[177]

Blogger Tommy Christopher noted that critics of Ron Paul's followers accused them of being "cult-like" in an attempt to marginalize Paul's support base. Christopher opined that this was part of a "seemingly willful determination by the mainstream media to completely ignore or glibly dismiss Paul's many successes."^[178]

Rankings[link]

Alexa.com data shows Paul's campaign website for his suspended campaign receiving less traffic than the sites of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, as well as roughly equal traffic to John McCain.^[179] However, Paul's traffic far exceeded Clinton's, and even Obama's as far back as January, evidence of his intense web-based following.^[180] Paul's site receives more traffic than Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney or Fred Thompson.^[181] Hitwise ranks Ron Paul as the seventh most frequent candidate search.^[182] In June 2007, Kate Kaye of ClickZNews used Hitwise data to report that Ron Paul had "rocketed from fifth place to first" in their Republican Candidates' Site Traffic Market Share and Rankings report.^[183] By October 2007 Fred Thompson had pushed Paul out of the first place position.^[184] After March 2008 Paul's site traffic as measured by Hitwise trailed that of McCain, Clinton, and Obama.^[185] The SIPP index, a site that claims to track how candidates connect with voters, had Ron Paul ranked #3 out of all of the candidates in the 2008 primary when he dropped his bid.^[186]