Throwing his name into the 2012 potential runners, Ron Paul announced in Iowa his formation of an exploratory committee. The difference between Paul and the long list of those seeking the GOP nomination is that Paul aligns with the majority of Americans on almost all issues. Namely on the economy and the ever expanding federal government. And, while he has said that he would like to end the fed, his most sought after slogan could come to reality if he were to be elected: Audit the Fed.
The LATimes | With an eye toward tapping “tea party” votes, Ron Paul said Tuesday he was forming a presidential exploratory committee for a second try at the Republican nomination.
The Texas congressman built a passionate following in 2008, raising more than $35 million but failing to win any caucuses or primaries. At a news conference in Des Moines, Iowa, he said the country has changed, with “literally millions of more people now concerned about things I talked about four years ago,” including excessive government spending.
His announcement came one day after Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour announced he wouldn’t run. It leaves Paul as the most prominent critic of U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan in the Republican field.
Paul, 75, was the Libertarian Party nominee for president in 1988. He faces competition for votes from Gary Johnson, a former two-term New Mexico governor who recently entered the Republican contest on a libertarian platform. He’ll also be competing with other conservative candidates for tea party support.
The father of tea party favorite and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, the elder Paul promised a final decision soon about a 2012 run, probably before June. He said he entered the exploratory phase in order to qualify for the first debate of the campaign, scheduled for May 5 in South Carolina.
Paul said he was filing papers with the Federal Election Commission but none had been received late Tuesday.