(For campaign news, see {ELECT}.)
May 15 (Bloomberg) — Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul is quitting spending money to compete in primary elections, while trying to collect more national convention delegates at state gatherings that could give him a greater voice in the party.
Paul, 76, said in a statement yesterday he won’t officially end his White House bid and will “carry a strong message to the Republican National Convention” in Tampa, Florida, Aug. 27-30. His candidacy has provided a platform for his libertarian views, such as ending most taxes and auditing and dismantling the Federal Reserve.
He said that spending money on any of the 11 states that have yet to vote in Republican presidential primaries “would take many tens of millions of dollars that we simply do not have.”
Paul had $1.8 million cash on hand at the end of March, according to U.S. Federal Election Commission reports.
Presumed Republican nominee Mitt Romney has 973 delegates, with 1,144 needed for the nomination, according to the Associated Press. Paul, who was Romney’s last active challenger, has 104 in the AP tally.
Paul told supporters in his statement that he will develop a “delegate strategy” in “the coming days.”
‘Fruitful’ Strategy
His campaign said it will soon release information about its “fruitful delegate-attainment strategy still occurring at delegate-selection events such as state conventions” before the Tampa convention.
The presidential primaries wrap up June 26 when Utah votes, though Romney should surpass the needed number well before then and perhaps as soon as later this month.
Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, who emerged as Romney’s main rival, ended his campaign on April 10, while former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich officially exited on May 2.
While Paul supporters have been seeking delegates at state party conventions, campaign manager John Tate sent an e-mail last week that sought to distance the candidate from what Tate called a “hostile takeover” of delegates in Idaho.
“The Ron Paul 2012 presidential campaign condemns efforts to expand its influence in the Republican Party in Idaho and beyond when these activities are couched as vengeful, underhanded, or markedly distasteful,” Tate said.
‘Scorched Earth’
Paul supporter Ryan Davidson, a Republican official in Ada County, Idaho, advocated a “scorched earth” tactic of securing delegates at the June 22 state convention, the Idaho Statesman reported.
“If two-thirds of the delegates to the Idaho state convention are Ron Paul supporters, they can vote to suspend the rules, overturn the results of the caucus and award all the national delegates to Ron Paul,” Davidson said in a training video, according to the Statesman.
Paul supporters also have pushed for delegates at conventions in Maine, Iowa and Nevada.
This is Paul’s third bid for the presidency, having run as the Libertarian Party’s nominee in 1988 and in the 2008 Republican contest, in which Senator John McCain of Arizona won the nomination.
Paul, a former obstetrician-gynecologist, announced earlier this year he wouldn’t seek re-election to his congressional seat. His son, Rand Paul, is a Republican senator from Kentucky.
Paul’s views — which include a return to the gold standard and bringing home most U.S. troops from overseas — have gained him devoted followers.
“I am the defender of the Constitution, I am the champion of liberty,” he said during his introduction at the Feb. 22 Republican candidate debate in Mesa, Arizona.
His candidacy this year, he said in his statement, “is about the campaign for liberty, which has taken a tremendous leap forward in this election and will continue to grow stronger in the future until we finally win.”
–Editors: Don Frederick, Jim Rubin.
To contact the reporter on this story: Julie Bykowicz in Washington at jbykowicz@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jeanne Cummings at jcummings21@bloomberg.net
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