Paul Has "No Intention" of Making Third-Party Bid
By Jose Antonio Vargas


MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Rep. Ron Paul has no plans to run on a third party ticket, he told The Trail tonight, minutes before boarding a private jet to Los Angeles.

And, it turns out, being excluded from the evening's Republican forum on Fox News landed the Texas congressman a second invitation on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." He'll be the lead guest on Monday's show, he said.

"It's annoying not able to participate in the debate," said Paul, adding that Fox News reporters and commentators "are war mongerers who don't want to hear other opinions."

"But it worked well for us," he continued.

Paul has been one of this campaign's biggest surprises. Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson, and Mike Huckabee have seen their popularity fluctuate, but Paul has continued to climb in polls (he's at 10 percent in the latest CNN/WMUR New Hampshire poll, well ahead of Thompson) and raise significant sums of money. He expects to improve on his fifth place finish in Iowa, where he beat Giuliani, and said he believes he can stay competitive on Super Tuesday, when California and New York, where Paul has strong online followings, go to the polls.

Throughout the year, the 72-year-old obstetrician-turned-congressman has been the most popular Republican candidate online. About 85 percent of the $28 million he raised last year came through the internet, his campaign said.

The money has allowed him to greatly expand his field staff. In Iowa, he had 10 full-time staffers and has 9 here in New Hampshire. Jesse Benton, his spokesman, said the campaign has aired 10 radio ads. In addition, it has run six TV commercials in the Granite State, spending about $1.5 million. Looking ahead, the campaign has three offices and nine full-time staffers in South Carolina and recently hired its third staffer in California.

For weeks rumors have swirled that Paul, who trails his opponents in national and state polls, will eventually run as an independent or libertarian candidate.

"I have no intention of doing that," Paul told The Trail.

Asked how he'd respond if his supporters clamored for him to mount a run outside the GOP, Paul responded: "We'll see if the supporters keep sending the money. But right now, our focus is on Feb. 5th."

http://blog.washingtonpost.com


This ALIPAC member has posted this entity be it editorial opinion, news article, column, or web creation as information for the General Population (public) only. It is not intended as an endorsement for this candidate by this poster. Its use here has not been anticipated to be used as, or used to discredit any candidate mentioned herewith.