Ron Paul says he won't quit race CAMPAIGN 2012

Republican presidential primary candidate Ron Paul signs a poster following a private fundraising luncheon at the Marriott Hotel on Thursday, April 5, 2011 in San Francisco, Calif. Republican presidential primary candidate Ron Paul signs a poster following a private fundraising luncheon at the Marriott Hotel on Thursday, April 5, 2011 in San Francisco, Calif. Photo: Beck Diefenbach, Special To The Chronicle Photo: Beck Diefenbach, Special To The Chronicle Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close Ron Paul says he won't quit race 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul, on a three-day campaign swing in California that has attracted overflow crowds, said Thursday his withdrawal from the race is "not going to happen" - and he isn't certain he'll support Mitt Romney should the former Massachusetts governor win the party's nomination.

The Texas congressman, in a meeting with The Chronicle's editorial board, said there may be some "excitement" ahead, including the possibility of a "brokered" convention.

Paul, asked whether he would back Romney if he secures the 1,144 delegates needed to win the Republican nomination, said, "We haven't gotten that far yet. I have no plans to say no or yes."

Paul also left open the door - at least a crack - to declare himself an independent presidential candidate. Asked if he had ruled it out, Paul said, "I have my hands full right now." He added: "I'm in the middle of a process and I want to find out how many delegates we have and whether there's going to be a brokered convention."

He draws a crowd

This week, Paul has attracted record crowds of 5,000 to 7,000 people at Chico State University and UCLA.

On Thursday night, he spoke to thousands of people in Memorial Glade in front of UC Berkeley's Doe Library. Paul was greeted with chants of "President Paul" and was obviously energized to be in what he called the home of "free speech."

The chants were atypical of those usually heard on the campus, including "End the Fed," and "U.S.A., U.S.A."

Paul spoke about cutting the federal budget and ending wars, but the loudest cheers came when he railed against the war on drugs.

In a reference to the raid this week on Oaksterdam University and marijuana dispensary in Oakland, he said, "If you have states' rights in California, you wouldn't have the feds bugging you and telling you what you could do with your own body.

"The war on drugs is a failure, it's much more dangerous than the drugs themselves," he said.

With two months until the June 5 California primary, Romney has 658 delegates, more than half needed for the nomination, and the other GOP candidates face increasing pressure to get out of the race. Former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania has 281 delegates, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has 135 and Paul has 51.

At The Chronicle on Thursday, Paul appeared perplexed about why he hasn't been able to translate robust turnout at his events into votes.

"I don't know," he said, adding that perhaps it's because his campaign attracts many voters turned off by traditional politics or young voters who aren't yet politically engaged.

The news media, he said, has largely ignored his robust following.

"We get written off as, 'He's unelectable, we're not even going to cover him,' " he said. "You know what some of my supporters say ... the votes aren't being counted."

But Paul said his loyal backers are "the No. 1 reason why I'm not getting out of the race. ... Just throw up my hands and walk away? It's not going to happen."

Asked whether Romney could beat President Obama in November, Paul said, "Oh, sure he can. But is he a shoo-in ...? I wouldn't say that. ... It's not that he is offering something much different" than Obama.

Should he head into the Republican National Convention with his delegates in tow in August, Paul said it was "too premature" to discuss what message he wants to send or what he intends to demand.

Other ways to run a race

But Paul sounded like a candidate who hasn't yet ruled out other avenues. He said he was aware of Americans Elect, a movement to nominate a third-party candidate for president. He conceded he doesn't know enough about the movement but added, "Anything that challenges the status quo, I'm generally for it."

The major political parties, he said, "have the same monetary policy, the same foreign policy; there's no difference. To say, 'Well, I'll be an independent, I'll go run' ... guess who writes the rules on how you get on the ballot? The Republicans and Democrats. They don't want any competition."