Story highlights Many New Hampshire libertarians were looking forward to supporting Rand Paul

Whether Ted Cruz can actually inspire libertarians here to show up for him is yet to be seen

(CNN) It was an unlikely night for New Hampshire libertarians to throw a party.

Just hours earlier, Rand Paul, the most libertarian-ish of all the presidential candidates, announced he was dropping out of the race, mere days before the first-in-the-nation primary here. But that night, members of the Free State Project -- a growing group of "liberty" activists who set a goal to convince thousands of like-minded people to move here to build what they hope will become the freest state in the nation -- finally reached their goal of having 20,000 people commit to relocate to New Hampshire to join their movement.

And to celebrate, the group's leaders threw a bash at a non-descript speakeasy in downtown Manchester Wednesday night. Access was guarded by a secret password that party-goers whispered into an intercom outside an unmarked door. Inside, several dozen "Free Staters," as they're called, guzzled down glasses of craft cocktails.

Although many within this movement eschew national politics, conversations about Paul's decision to get out of the race abounded. Paul may not have been perfect to them, but he was as close a friend as they had on the presidential stage. Now he was gone, just days before they even had a chance to show their support.

"I was actually shocked that he had dropped out," said Carla Gericke, the group's president. "It would have been great to see how he did in New Hampshire."

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