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2012 Presidential campaign
Ron Paul was recently established as the most frequent winner of Straw Poll.
Ron Paul was recently established as the most frequent winner of Straw Poll.
==2012 Presidential Election==
As 2012 approached, there was speculation as to whether Paul would run as a Republican candidate or a third party candidate. This was in the context of a larger struggle within the Republican Party between an emerging [[Tea Party]] element and a more moderate Republican establishment. Paul had gained a dedicated following among the Tea Party, idealistic young people and libertarians, and needed to translate that support into an effective Presidential campaign. Paul also had to navigate between the expectations of his supporters, his strategic objectives and the possibilities that the Republican establishment could harm the future career of his son, Senator [[Rand Paul]].
Leading up to the campaign, Paul appeared in the 2010 [[Conservative Political Action Conference]] (CPAC) straw poll. Paul won the poll, defeating Mitt Romney, who had won it the previous three years.<ref name=CPAC>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/02/20/conservatives.meeting/index.html |title=Rep. Ron Paul surprise winner of CPAC presidential straw poll |publisher=CNN |date=February 21, 2010| accessdate=September 18, 2012}}</ref> Paul also won the 2011 CPAC straw poll with 30 percent of the vote. Following that, he also won the paid, online Arizona Tea Party Patriots straw poll on February 28, 2011 with 49% of the vote.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20037196-503544.html |title=Ron Paul and Herman Cain lead the pack in Tea Party Patriots straw poll |publisher=CBS News |accessdate=September 18, 2012 | date=February 28, 2011}}</ref>
In February 2011, Paul asked supporters to donate to his Liberty Political Action Committee to fund trips to explore a possible 2012 presidential candidacy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.libertypac.com/2011/02/23/dr-paul-thanks-grassroots-for-president%E2%80%99s-day-money-bomb/ |title=Dr. Paul Thanks Grassroots for President's Day Money Bomb |publisher=Liberty.pac |accessdate=Septmeber 18, 2012| date=February 22, 2011}}</ref> On April 14, 2011, Paul's spokesman, Jesse Benton, announced that Paul had formed a "testing-the-waters" organization, stating, "He remains undecided on what his plans will be, but as a final decision draws closer, his team has put the pieces in place for him to flip a switch and hit the ground running if he decides to run for president."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/14/ron-paul-2012-presidential-exploratory_n_849144.html |title=Ron Paul 2012 Presidential 'Testing The Waters' Organization Launches |work=The Huffington Post|accessdate=September 18, 2012 |date=April 14, 2011 |first=Elyse |last=Siegel}}</ref> Paul announced the formation of an [[exploratory committee]] in [[Des Moines, Iowa|Des Moines]], [[Iowa]] on April 26 aimed at seeking the Republican presidential nomination.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42770196/ns/politics-decision_2012/ |title= Ron Paul kicks off exploratory committee for 2012 bid |publisher=msnbc.com |accessdate=September 18, 2012 | date=April 26, 2011}}</ref><ref name=thehill>{{cite news |url=http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/gop-presidential-primary/157817-ron-paul-officially-announces-2012-exploratory-committee |title=Ron Paul officially announces 2012 presidential exploratory committee |work=The Hill|accessdate=September 18, 2012 | date=April 26, 2011}}</ref> On May 5, 2011, Paul participated in a debate in [[Greenville, South Carolina]] sponsored by Fox News with four other possible Republican candidates.<ref name=election-news>{{cite web | url=http://uselectionnews.org/foxsc-debate-features-just-5-of-2012-gop/853203/ | title=FOX/SC Debate Features Just 5 of 2012 GOP | author=Taylor, Alexandra | date=May 5, 2011 | accessdate=September 18, 2012}}</ref>
On May 13, 2011, in [[Exeter, New Hampshire]], Paul announced his decision to seek the Republican nomination in the 2012 election on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]'s ''[[Good Morning America]]'' program.<ref>[http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/13/breaking-rep-ron-paul-announces-third-bid-for-presidency/ Rep. Ron Paul announces candidacy for president]. CNN. May 13, 2011, Retrieved September 18, 2012.</ref> On July 12, 2011, Paul announced that he will not seek another term as the Representative of Texas's 14th District to focus on his presidential campaign.<ref>{{cite web|author=Dave Cook |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/The-Vote/2011/0712/Ron-Paul-says-he-s-all-in-for-the-presidency-won-t-run-again-for-Congress |title=Ron Paul says he's all in for the presidency, won't run again for Congress |work=Christian Science Monitor|date=July 12, 2011 |accessdate=September 18, 2012}}</ref>
Under Republican Party rules, delegates were selected in proportion to the results of state by state primaries. The actual delegates were to be selected at either a Congressional District or state-wide caucus or convention based upon the primary results. (In earlier times, delegates were either chosen by party leaders or awarded on a "winner-take-all" basis to the candidate that received the most votes in a particular state.) Although delegates to the convention were "pledged" to vote for a particular candidate on just the first ballot, the delegate was free to vote for anyone on later ballots and could vote independently on other questions such as the [[party platform]]. By organizing people to vote in local caucuses or volunteering to serve as delegates in Congressional district conventions, the Paul campaign was able to elect its supporters as National Convention Delegates even though Mitt Romney had gained more votes in the primary of a particular state.
On May 14, 2012, Paul made a statement on the campaign's website that he would no longer be actively campaigning in remaining state primaries, but would instead continue his presidential bid by seeking to collect delegates at caucuses and state conventions for the [[Republican National Convention]] in August 2012.<ref>{{cite web|last=Paul|first=Ron|title=Ron Paul Statement on Campaign Going Forward|url=http://www.ronpaul2012.com/2012/05/14/ron-paul-statement-on-campaign-going-forward/|accessdate=September 18, 2012}}</ref> This left Mitt Romney as the only remaining candidate actively participating in the primaries.
In June 2012, a group of 132 Paul supporters filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the [[Republican National Committee]] and 55 state and territorial Republican party organizations for allegedly coercing delegates to choose [[Mitt Romney]] as the party’s presidential nominee. The suit sought to give all delegates the right to vote for Paul on the first ballot, even if they were "pledged" to another candidate.<ref name=suit>{{cite news|last=Roth|first=Caroline|title=RNC Faces Suit from Paul Backers|url=http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/rnc-faces-suit-from-paul-backers-20120619|accessdate=Septmeber 18, 2012|newspaper=National Journal|date=June 19, 2012}}</ref> The suit alleged that there had been "a systematic campaign of election fraud at state conventions," employing rigging of voting machines, ballot stuffing, and falsification of ballot totals. The suit further pointed to incidents at state conventions, including acts of violence and changes in procedural rules, allegedly intended to deny participation of Paul supporters in the party decision-making and to prevent votes from being cast for Paul. An attorney representing the plaintiffs said that Paul campaign advisor [[Doug Wead]] had supported the decision to sue.<ref name=suit/> Paul told [[CNN]] that although the lawsuit was not a part of his campaign’s strategy and that he had not been advising his supporters to sue, he was not going to tell his supporters not to sue, if they had a legitimate argument. “If they’re not following the rules, you have a right to stand up for the rules. I think for the most part these winning caucuses that we've been involved in we have followed the rules. And the other side has at times not followed the rules.”<ref name=CNNsuit>{{cite news|title=Ron Paul interview with Wolf Blitzer|url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1206/19/sitroom.01.html|accessdate=September 18, 2012|newspaper=CNN (The Situation Room)|date=June 19, 2012}}</ref> Later that month, a Federal District Court judge dismissed the complaint,<ref>{{cite news|last=Reynolds|first=Matt|title=Try again, judge tells Ron Paul supporters|url=http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/08/09/49160.htm|newspaper=Courthouse News Service|date=August 9, 2012}}</ref> but the plaintiffs refiled it and it was pending at the time of the convention.
===2012 Republican Convention===
Because Romney won on the first ballot, the exact number of Paul delegates will never be known. However, Paul did receive 190 delegate votes at the convention.<ref>{{cite web|title=Complete 2012 RNC Delegate Roll Call Vote Results|url=http://ingotnews.com/post/30435195767/complete-2012-rnc-delegate-roll-call-vote-results|publisher=http://ingotnews.com|accessdate=September 18, 2012}}</ref>Because Paul did not gain at least a majority of the delegations of five states, his name was not formally placed into nomination, and he was not scheduled to speak at the convention. Instead, he organized a rally on the Sunday before the Convention for his delegates and supporters.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ronpaul2012.com/2012/08/21/ron-paul-pre-rnc-event-to-assemble-champions-of-constitutional-conservatism/|title =Ron Paul Pre-RNC Event to Assemble Champions of Constitutional Conservatism|publisher = ronpaul2012.com|accessdate=September 18, 2012}}</ref> Paul declined to endorse Romney - Ryan Republican ticket, saying that he was as yet undecided and leaving open the possibility that he would consider endorsing Libertarian candidate [[Gary Johnson]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Weinger|first=Mackenzie|title=Ron Paul: I'm an 'undecided' voter|url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0812/80301.html|newspaper=Politico|date=August 28, 2012}}</ref>
==Ron Paul Quotes==
==Ron Paul Quotes==