Ron Paul may be a second-tier candidate in the polls, but his fund raising acumen perches him at the top of his party. By raising $19 million in the fourth quarter [subscription required], the Texas Congressman known for his calls to abolish the IRS established the second best quarter of any Republican in this election cycle. Only Mitt Romney, who raised $20.8 million in the first quarter, has reported better numbers.
What will come of Paul's strong fund raising and weak poll numbers? Here's where it could get interesting: According to the Washington Post, "Ron Paul, the Texas congressman stirring up the Republican presidential contest with his libertarian-leaning views and online fund raising prowess, left the door open Sunday to running as an independent, should he not win the Republican nomination."
Part of Paul's problem in the primaries could be that his views aren't in line with the party line: He has always been a strong opponent of the war in Iraq, he supports leaving most social issues up to the states, and he's skeptical of the FBI and CIA.
But his fund raising and YouTube celebrity (and great performance on Jim Cramer's Mad Money) show that he strikes a chord with a lot of Americans.
Ron Paul is big on college campuses and he appeals to a lot of people the other Republican candidates don't. I'm a registered Democrat, but I'd give serious thought to voting for Ron Paul if he somehow gets the nomination or runs as an independent.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-31-2007 @ 1:36PM
John Lowther said...
Pollsters adjust their numbers by factors based on how active respondents have been in previous elections.
I believe this causes polls to drastically underestimate the extent of Ron Paul's support, because many of his supporters have not previously been presented with a major party candidate whom they COULD support, and have thus not been politically active in previous elections.
In case you haven't noticed, Ron Paul is the first honest-to-goodness "not business as usual" candidate in decades.
In my entire life as a voter (since 1974) the major parties have made me try to divine who was the lesser of the evils. In 2004, I wound up voting for Badnarik, because Bush and Kerry were equally terrifying.
12-31-2007 @ 1:48PM
Gregory Richards said...
Ron Paul is leading Mitt Romney's fund raising in that he has receiving donations from more than 10x times as many separate individual voters.
Consider that Paul's campaign has by far, the best and strongest growth curves, in either party.
Simple analysis shows exponential improvement in revenue, and number of number donors in each sequential quarter.
He is also the top republican fund raiser in every single category for Q4-2008.
It would seem that any journalist worth his salt could easily turn these facts into a headline story.
A newsworthy one for once.
12-31-2007 @ 1:51PM
4Freedom said...
It is my opinion only, but I believe Ron Paul will have a much stronger showing then most of those polls show. I disagree with your comment that:
"Part of Paul's problem in the primaries could be that his views aren't in line with the party line."
I believe they are and that the party is no longer in line with it's own views.
Either way it will be only days until we know the depth of the support for Paul and I'm looking forward to the possibility it may shock the pundits to their core.
12-31-2007 @ 6:12PM
rhys said...
In the first quarter, Romney only raised 18,8 million. The other two million was a loan to his campaign from his own bank account. Ron is the top fundraiser on numerous levels - single greatest fundraising day of this primary season among all candidates (4.2 million November 5), single greatest fundraising day every by any candidate (6.1 million December 16th), and single greatest fundraising quarter of this primary season among Republicans (19.3? Oct 1-Dec 31). Also, I am expecting his campaign o report more money in the coffers than any other Republican after Jan 15th since the other candidates waste their supporters money with bloated burearocracy, just like they would if they were elected.
1-01-2008 @ 9:45PM
Ralph said...
400lb gorilla, carrying the Constitution.