AUSTIN, Texas — Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul ended his campaign Thursday night and announced a new effort to help elect libertarian-leaning Republicans to public office around the country.
Campaign spokesman Jesse Benton said the announcement, during a rally coinciding with the Texas GOP State Convention in Houston, was “not a disappointment at all. I think this is really exciting.”
Paul’s announcement was a formality. The 72-year-old Texas congressman won few delegates during the Republican primaries. But he raised millions of dollars online and developed a large grassroots following among those who backed his calls for ending the war in Iraq and for smaller government at home.
Supporters have pushed for a speaking role for him at the Republican National Convention in September in St. Paul, Minn. Paul has said he won’t endorse Sen. John McCain, the likely GOP presidential nominee. Benton said that was unlikely to change. The Associated Press
