Ron Paul Plays Catch-Up Against Mitt Romney

With less than a week to go until five states in the Northeast hold their primaries, Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul is looking to play catch-up on Mitt Romney, the overwhelming favorite in the race for the GOP nomination.

The Paul campaign announced that their candidate will hold events in New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island later this week. Those states -- as well as Connecticut and Delaware -- will hold primaries on Tuesday, April 24.

Following the strategy his campaign has embraced in recent weeks, Paul will be stumping at colleges and universities as he continues his second bid for the Republican nomination. On Wednesday, Paul is scheduled to hit the University of Rhode Island before heading up to New York on Thursday to campaign at Cornell University in Ithaca. Paul is scheduled to hit the Keystone State on Friday when he will speak in Pittsburgh and at Independence Mall in Philadelphia.

“Supporters in Rhode Island, New York, and Pennsylvania are working tirelessly to organize these upcoming events so Ron Paul can speak directly to students and the broader community,” said Edward King who leads Paul’s outreach to young voters. “Ron Paul is the only authentic conservative running for the Republican nomination and the only candidate who will solve our debt crisis, a liability future generations will inherit. That’s why he attracts so many young people, and that’s why Dr. Paul is the best candidate to defeat President Obama in November.”

In the meantime, the Paul campaign is using the IRS tax filing period to hold a money bomb. The Paul team, which has had some success with previous versions of these online fundraising drives, hopes to raise $2.5 million through the money bomb.

The Paul team is also trying to chip away at Romney’s large lead in terms of delegates who will nominate the Republican candidate at the convention in Tampa come August. The Paul camp is targeting supporters of Rick Santorum, who suspended his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination last week, and garnered some success.

In Colorado, where Santorum won a nonbinding primary, the Paul team joined with Santorum backers to get a slate of 20 delegates elected while Romney garnered 16 delegates.

“Ron Paul’s victories today declare his delegate-attainment strategy to be a success and they demonstrate that the media and Washington pundits are undercounting his delegates to the Republican National Convention in Tampa,” insisted John Tate, Paul’s campaign manager.

“Taken together, these victories and those yet to happen forecast a prominent role for Ron Paul at the RNC,” continued Tate. “They also signal that the convention will feature a spirited discussion over whether conservatism will triumph over the status quo, all in relation to the end game of defeating President Obama.”  

The Paul campaign is looking to pick up more support in Minnesota, another state where Santorum won a nonbinding contest, when Republicans in the North Star State select delegates for the Tampa convention. While Paul and Santorum supporters have worked together in Colorado, the two candidates clashed at debates earlier in the campaign cycle, mostly over foreign policy.



Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.