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The Draft Ron Paul movement refers to any of several grassroots efforts to convince United States Congressman Ron Paul of Texas to run for particular office, often president of the United States, as in the 2008 and 2012 elections.
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Paul was originally drafted[ dubious – discuss ] to run for Congress as a nonincumbent in elections in 1974, April 1976, and 1978.[ citation needed ] Democrat Robert Gammage, who lost to Paul in 1978 by some 300 votes, stated he had underestimated Paul's support, particularly among local mothers: "I had real difficulty down in Brazoria County, where he practiced, because he'd delivered half the babies in the county. There were only two obstetricians in the county, and the other one was his partner." [1]
After four terms in Congress, Paul was drafted in 1987 to run for U.S. president with the Libertarian Party. [2] On the ballot in 46 states and the District of Columbia in 1988, [3] Paul's campaign placed third in the popular vote with 432,179 votes (0.5%), [4] behind Republican winner George H. W. Bush and Democrat Michael Dukakis. [5]
In 1995–6, Paul was drafted[ dubious – discuss ] to run for Congress again, with support from baseball pitcher, constituent, and friend Nolan Ryan (as honorary campaign chair and ad spokesman), as well as tax activist Steve Forbes [6] and conservative commentator Pat Buchanan (both of whom had run presidential campaigns that year).[ citation needed ] Paul went on to win the election in a close margin. It became the third time Paul had been elected to Congress as a nonincumbent. [6]
An online grassroots petition to draft Paul for the 2004 presidential election, circulated by Independent Citizens and Parties for Congressman Ron Paul for President 2004, garnered several thousand signatures, [7] including appeals to petition Paul made by Murray Sabrin, [8] Dennis P. Slatton of the United America Party–North Carolina, and Constitution Party candidate Mark Dankof. [9] He was also endorsed by Chuck Baldwin [10] and LewRockwell.com economist David R. Henderson, [11] and the movement cited endorsements from the Independent American Party of Minnesota, the Constitution Party of New York, and the Constitution Party of Ohio. [12] On December 11, 2001, Paul told the independent movement that he was encouraged by the fact that the petition had spread the message of Constitutionalism, but did not expect a White House win at that time. [13] Nevertheless, the movement continued through the election cycle and was cited by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for supporting Paul's dissent from George W. Bush's foreign policy. [14]
Further prompting in 2006-07 led Paul to enter the 2008 presidential race, officially declaring his candidacy on March 12, 2007, after much convincing by a congressional campaign aide, Kent Snyder, as well as a small grassroots effort. Simultaneous Libertarian Party draft efforts were hampered by Paul's run as a Republican. [15] Those publicly calling for Paul to be drafted by the grassroots included political cartoonist Kevin Tuma. [16] After SuperTuesday 2008 and with John McCain the presumptive nominee, economist Edwin Vieira, Jr., called for the Constitutionalist movement to draft Paul for a third-party run for president. [17] Paul's 2008 campaign for the Republican nomination ran until June 12, 2008; [18] declining a third-party run, Paul eventually endorsed Constitution Party candidate Chuck Baldwin for president.
Since his run for president in 2008, Paul has become the subject of a significant political following among voters[ citation needed ].
In September 2008, Paul also hosted and participated in an event in Minneapolis—St. Paul, Minnesota that coincided with the nearby 2008 Republican National Convention, titled the Rally for the Republic, to protest the Republican convention's refusal to let Paul speak. The rally drew over 10,000 of his presidential campaign supporters, and hosted several speakers, including former Governors Jesse Ventura and Gary Johnson, political commentator Tucker Carlson, Barry Goldwater, Jr., and music artist Aimee Allen. [19]
Paul won the 2010 CPAC straw poll with the largest percentage ever by any candidate[ citation needed ], placing well ahead of other speculated candidates, including Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin and Tim Pawlenty.[ citation needed ]
Heavily speculated as a possible Republican candidate in the 2012 presidential election, Paul again appeared on the 2010 CPAC Straw Poll. Paul easily won the straw poll [20] and defeated Mitt Romney, who had won the straw poll the previous three years. One possible explanation was that many Tea Party activists turned out at the conference. 54 percent of the participants were between the ages of 18 and 25. [20]
Paul won the major 2011 CPAC Straw Poll on February 12, 2011, with 30 percent of the vote. Following that, Ron Paul won the paid, online Arizona Tea Party Patriots straw poll on February 28, 2011, with 49% of the vote. [21]
Ron Paul in February 2011 asked supporters to donate to his Liberty PAC, to fund trips to Iowa and elsewhere to explore a possible 2012 presidential candidacy. On February 21, a Presidents' Day money bomb raised around $400,000 in 24 hours. Liberty PAC has raised more than $1,000,000 overall since its February relaunch. [22]
Ronald Ernest Paul is an American author, activist, physician, and retired politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977, and again from 1979 to 1985, as well as for Texas's 14th congressional district from 1997 to 2013. On three occasions, he sought the presidency of the United States: as the Libertarian Party nominee in 1988; and as a candidate for the Republican Party in 2008 and 2012.
Gary Earl Johnson is an American businessman and politician who served as the 29th governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003 as a member of the Republican Party. He has been a member of the Libertarian Party since 2011 and was the party's nominee for President of the United States in the 2012 and 2016 elections. He was also the Libertarian nominee in the 2018 U.S. Senate election in New Mexico.
Charles Obadiah Baldwin is an American right-wing politician, radio host, and founder-former Independent Baptist pastor of Crossroad Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida. As of 2024 he is leading pastor of Liberty Fellowship in Kalispell, Montana. He was the presidential nominee of the Constitution Party for the 2008 U.S. presidential election and had previously been its nominee for vice president in 2004. He hosts a daily one-hour radio program, Chuck Baldwin Live, and writes a daily editorial column carried on its website, as well as on VDare. He is a former editor of NewsWithViews.com.
The following is a timeline of major events leading up to and immediately following the United States presidential election of 2008. The election was the 56th quadrennial United States presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008, but its significant events and background date back to about 2002. The Democratic Party nominee, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, defeated the Republican Party's nominee, Senator John McCain of Arizona.
In early 2007, Ron Paul, a congressman from Texas, announced his candidacy for the Republican Party's nomination for president of the United States in the 2008 election. Initial opinion polls during the first three quarters of 2007 showed him consistently receiving support from 3% or less of those polled. In 2008, Paul's support among Republican voters remained in the single digits, and well behind front-runner John McCain.
The 2008 presidential campaign of Tom Tancredo, a Congressman from Colorado began on April 2, 2007 with a formal announcement. The campaign garnered grassroots support and endorsements from conservative Republicans concerned about illegal immigration and border security. However, Tancredo remained low in the polls and was criticized for his nativist campaign, which had been described as "single-issued." Tancredo stated that he probably would not win the nomination but hoped his campaign would bring forth more debate on his issue of concern, immigration. On December 20, 2007 Tancredo withdrew from the presidential race, and endorsed Mitt Romney.
The 2008 presidential campaign of Bob Barr, former Congressman of Georgia began on May 12, 2008. He announced his candidacy for the Libertarian Party's president after months of grassroots draft efforts. Barr was criticized by Libertarians who opposed his efforts in Congress, which included sponsorship of the Defense of Marriage Act and votes in favor of the USA PATRIOT Act and authorization of the War in Iraq, but he was supported by others who accepted his regret for those positions. Barr won the party's nomination after six rounds of balloting at the 2008 Libertarian Party National Convention. Former contender Wayne Allyn Root was named as his running mate. Reason magazine senior editor Radley Balko called Barr "the first serious candidate the LP has run since I've been eligible to vote."
The Chuck Baldwin presidential campaign of 2008 began April 10, 2008 as pastor and radio host Chuck Baldwin of Florida announced his candidacy for the Constitution Party presidential nomination. He previously served as the party's vice-presidential nominee in 2004. Baldwin's main opposition for the nomination was former ambassador Alan Keyes, who had just left the Republican Party. After a campaign touting his stands on civil liberties, foreign affairs, and religion, Baldwin won the nomination at the April 26 Constitution Party National Convention. Attorney Darrell Castle was selected as his running mate.
Electoral history of Ron Paul, Republican U.S. Representative from Texas, 1988 Libertarian Party Presidential nominee and candidate for the 2008 and 2012 Republican presidential nomination.
The following is a timeline of major events leading up to the United States presidential election of 2012. The election was the 57th quadrennial United States presidential election held on November 6, 2012.
Voters of the Republican Party elected state delegations to the 2012 Republican National Convention in presidential primaries. The national convention then selected its nominee to run for President of the United States in the 2012 presidential election. There were 2,286 delegates chosen, and a candidate needed to accumulate 1,144 delegate votes at the convention to win the nomination. The caucuses allocated delegates to the respective state delegations to the national convention, but the actual election of the delegates were, many times, at a later date. Delegates were elected in different ways that vary from state to state. They could be elected at local conventions, selected from slates submitted by the candidates, selected at committee meetings, or elected directly at the caucuses and primaries.
The Ron Paul presidential campaign of 1988 began in early 1987 when former Congressman Ron Paul of Texas announced his candidacy for the 1988 presidential nomination of the Libertarian Party. He joined the third party after leaving the Republican Party over the Reagan administration's handling of the federal budget. He ran on a platform that included non-interventionism in foreign conflicts, decriminalization of illegal drugs on a federal level, a return to the gold standard, the abolition of the Federal Reserve and a reduction in all government spending.
The Values Voter Summit is an annual political conference held in Washington, D.C. for American social conservative activists and elected officials from across the United States.
This is a list of straw polls that have been conducted relating to the 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries.
From 2011 to 2012, Ron Paul, a U.S. representative from Texas, unsuccessfully ran for the 2012 Republican Party nomination for the president of the United States.
The 2012 presidential campaign of Gary Johnson, the 29th governor of New Mexico, was announced on April 21, 2011. He declared his candidacy for the 2012 Republican Party nomination for President of the United States. On December 28, 2011, Johnson withdrew his candidacy for the Republican nomination, and declared his candidacy for the 2012 presidential nomination of the Libertarian Party. The 2012 Libertarian National Convention was held during the first weekend of May 2012. On May 5, 2012, after promoting his libertarian-oriented political positions to delegates, Johnson received the most votes at the convention and became the official 2012 Libertarian presidential nominee. On November 6, 2012, Johnson received just under 1% of the popular vote in the general election, amounting to more than 1.2 million votes, more than double what the Barr/Root ticket received in 2008. This was the most successful result for a third-party presidential candidacy since 2000, and the best in the Libertarian Party's history by vote number at the time. Johnson ran again in 2016 and received nearly four times his 2012 vote total.
The 2012 Iowa Republican presidential caucuses took place on January 3, 2012.
The Virgil Goode presidential campaign of 2012 began when former U.S. Congressman Virgil Goode of Virginia announced his decision to seek the 2012 presidential nomination of the Constitution Party in February 2012. During the nomination campaign, he put forth a four-point plank that included his plans to restrict immigration, balance the federal budget, decrease the size of government, and institute congressional term limits.
The 2016 presidential campaign of Rand Paul, the junior United States senator from Kentucky, was announced on April 7, 2015, at an event at the Galt House in Louisville, Kentucky. First elected to the U.S. Senate in the 2010 election, Paul's candidacy for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in 2016 had been widely speculated since early 2013.
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