Ron Paul probably won’t win his third CPAC straw poll in a row this year, if the level of his support here is any indication.

By choosing to effectively boycott the conference and campaign in Maine, CPAC organizers are enjoying a relatively Ron Paul free event.

There are no rowdy supporters yelling out his name in the audience, no random cries of “End the Fed!” or any organized volunteers passing out campaign gear.

To clarify, there are multiple attendees wearing Ron Paul buttons and stickers, but his support has greatly diminished from past years. Even Rand’s speech yesterday was fairly tame compared to the raucus reception that Paul usually gets.

I talked to two college-aged supporters who were disappointed that Paul didn’t come to CPAC, but were independently passing out campaign stickers on his behalf.

“He really should have come. . . but his campaign staff told him not to,” they speculated, “They told him not to come.”