Republican presidential candidate Congressman Ron Paul
announced yesterday that his campaign would cease active campaigning in the remaining ten primaries and the single caucus of the nomination race, and instead, will focus their efforts to secure delegates in state conventions.
Congressman Paul explained that the decision lay in the fact “
any hope of success would take many tens of millions of dollars we simply do not have." He also indicated his campaign will provide their supporters with a
delegate strategy in the coming days.
The statement caused an immediate uproar in the media and among his supporters, with many reading it as a precursor to an eventual suspension of Dr. Paul’s campaign. However, his campaign’s chief strategist, Jesse Benton, rejected the claims in an
e-mail to supporters this morning, assuring supporters that “
Dr. Paul is NOT dropping out or suspending his campaign," and he will be in the race “
all the way to the Republican National Convention in Tampa this August.”
There have been mixed reactions to the two announcements, although, for the most part, Mr. Benton appears to be the popular target of censure for the slightly mystifying turn of events. In an interview with
Slate, Paul’s biographer, the respected Senior Editor of Reason Magazine and a former staff at the Cato Institute, Brian Doherty, expressed his displeasure with the situation. “
They were announcing what they were already doing. Why did they make a big deal out of it? If it's not part of a secret deal with Romney, it's merely utter idiocy.”
