Ron Paul May Not Endorse Eventual Republican Nominee

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul says he hasn't come to a conclusion about whether he will endorse anyone for the Republican presidential nomination if his own campaign falls short. "I haven't decided," Paul tells WMAL, a Washington, D.C. radio station.

[See pictures of Ron Paul on the campaign trail.]

Paul, a U.S. representative from Texas with a libertarian platform, says he remains concerned that the other GOP candidates aren't sufficiently committed to his concepts of individual liberty, cutting the power and spending of the federal government and a limited U.S. military role abroad. He disagrees with his rivals in his opposition to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and in his criticism of U.S., moves to stop Iran from making nuclear weapons.

[Check out U.S. News Weekly: an insider's guide to politics and policy.]

Paul is in last place out of four candidates actively seeking the nomination in terms of amassing delegates. He has yet to win a caucus or primary in any state. He is not expected to do well in the three primaries scheduled for Tuesday in Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Wisconsin.

But Paul still has a loyal if relatively limited following, and he retains the ability to draw big crowds, especially on college campuses. He tells WMAL that he sees no reason to drop out and won't decide on an endorsement until all the delegates are counted after the primaries and caucuses end later this year.

[Read Mitt Romney Set for Victories in Wisconsin, Maryland.]

The Associated Press gives Paul 51 delegates, far behind front-runner Mitt Romney's 572, Rick Santorum's 272 and Newt Gingrich's 135.

But Paul supporters argue that he is doing better in the delegate count than the news media or his opponents are willing to admit. One reason, Paul supporters say, is that he is building a delegate base under the radar of the party establishment by having his followers study the rules in caucus states and outmaneuver the other campaigns to get themselves chosen as delegates.

Experienced delegate counters, however, say the Paul campaign is being too optimistic and he really isn't doing as well as his supporters are claiming.

• Read Romney's Path to Nomination Runs Through Wisconsin.
• Read Obama Campaign on the Attack Against Romney.
• See a collection of political cartoons on the Republican party.

Reader Comments Read all comments (67)

Add Your Thoughts

Comment Name State Select One AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE DC FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY International Email

Please enter the two words below into the text field underneath the image.

Incorrect please try again

Enter the words above: Enter the numbers you hear:

Your comment will be posted immediately, unless it is spam or contains profanity. For more information, please see our Comments FAQ.