In an email to supporters, Congressman Ron Paul announced he would no longer invest resources in states, which have not yet held their primaries. Paul writes:
Moving forward, however, we will no longer spend resources campaigning in primaries in states that have not yet voted. Doing so with any hope of success would take many tens of millions of dollars we simply do not have. I encourage all supporters of Liberty to make sure you get to the polls and make your voices heard, particularly in the local, state, and Congressional elections, where so many defenders of Freedom are fighting and need your support.
I hope all supporters of Liberty will remain deeply involved – become delegates, win office, and take leadership positions. I will be right there with you. In the coming days, my campaign leadership will lay out to you our delegate strategy and what you can do to help, so please stay tuned.
This should be no surprise for many supporters paying close attention to the campaign, whose coordinated “money bombs” have yielded less and less support from Paul’s dedicated fans. (Disclosure: I have contributed a number of times this cycle to Paul’s campaign.)
Paul’s ideological crusade has retreated from state primaries and regrouped at state conventions to in an effort to elect as many delegates as possible to the Republican National Convention in Tampa, and to elect state and local party leaders.
I recognized Paul’s long-shot campaign for president this year was less about winning the nomination and more about installing leadership for the future. Paul’s support has grown exponentially since his 2008 campaign, and many of his supporters have learned the rules of the game and have remained engaged at the local and state level.
After the 2008 campaign, Paul left the infrastructure that no doubt led to his electoral successes this year: Campaign for Liberty and Young Americans for Liberty, which didn’t exist before 2008, now boast thousands of members in every state and the District of Columbia – and they’re expanding by leaps and bounds.
While Paul ended his primary campaign officially, his supporters are still actively working their way toward Tampa state-by-state. I wouldn’t be surprised if their presence at the convention is substantial this year – a big change from their separate “Rally for the Republic” held independent of, but nearby, the 2008 Convention in Minnesota.
As young Paul supporters remain engaged, don’t expect the fight for liberty to be extinguished with Paul’s exeunt.
Libertarian-leaning Republicans are running for (and winning) in Senate and House races all over the country. They may not all look and sound exactly like Congressman Paul, but they believe in much of his platform and will keep up the fight in his absence.
One final thought: Paul is retiring from Congress at the end of this term and will likely not appear on any ballot in the future.
If this disheartens you, I ask you: Have you gotten involved? Have you taken a campaign training or volunteered on a campaign? If so, you should know that your involvement will send more people like Paul to Washington and to state capitols across the U.S. If not, it’s time you do what you can to elect more candidates like him.
As Morton Blackwell says, “It’s a long ballgame.” We’re not done playing yet.
