Ron Paul's Campaign Defends Its Successes

A press release from the Ron Paul campaign on the heels of the three nonbinding votes of yesterday (in which Paul came in a strong second in Minnesota, above supposed frontrunner Romney but still far behind the mysterious rise of Rick Santorum) makes the case for a Paul campaign that has been more successful than the media or public might recognize:

[Paul's campaign manager John Tate says]:

"As people across the country view the results of  yesterday's contests, it is important to consider a few facts that have not been clearly reported.  Not one single delegate was awarded yesterday, instead the caucuses in Minnesota and Colorado were the very first step in the delegate selection process. And there are still over 40 states left to go. The Ron Paul campaign plans to continue to vie for delegates nationwide….

1) The Missouri primary means nothing. It was a non-binding beauty contest, and the contest that matters in the 'show me' state won't take place for another month. The Ron Paul campaign is well positioned to win delegates in Missouri's caucus a month from now.

2) As in Iowa where not 1 of the 28 delegates has been awarded yet, in Colorado and Nevada the Paul campaign will do very well in the state delegate counts. We will have good numbers among the actual delegates awarded, far exceeding our straw poll numbers.

3) In Minnesota where we have finished a solid second, we also have a strong majority of the state convention delegates, and the process to elect delegates has also just begun, the Paul campaign is well-organized to win the bulk of delegates there.

"We are confident in gaining a much larger share of delegates than even our impressive showing yesterday indicates. As an example of our campaign's delegate strength, take a look at what has occurred in Colorado:

In one precinct in Larimer County, the straw poll vote was 23 for Santorum, 13 for Paul, 5 for Romney, 2 for Gingrich.  There were 13 delegate slots, and Ron Paul got ALL 13.

In a precinct in Delta County the vote was 22 for Santorum, 12 for Romney, 8 for Paul, 7 for Gingrich. There were 5 delegate slots, and ALL 5 went to Ron Paul.

In a Pueblo County precinct, the vote was 16 for Santorum, 11 for Romney, 3 for Gingrich and 2 for Paul. There were 2 delegate slots filled, and both were filled by Ron Paul supporters.

We are also seeing the same trends in Minnesota, Nevada, and Iowa, and in Missouri as well.

"We may well win Minnesota, and do far better in Colorado than yesterday's polls indicate.

"In the latest national poll from Reuters/Ipsos Poll, Ron Paul places a strong second with 21 percent, gaining ground on his main competitor nationally, Mitt Romney, whose support seems to be fading at 29 percent.  Congressman Paul's support has grown by 5 percentage points nationally since January, while Romney has seen a 30 percent decline in his support since January.

"This poll follows a January 30th Gallup Poll showing Dr. Paul within the margin of error of defeating Obama.  Also, a January 16th CNN/ORC Poll showed Congressman Paul and Obama in a virtual tie in a general election showdown.

Politico on Paul's Minnesota efforts that led him to second place there. My forthcoming book, Ron Paul's Revolution.