Henniker, N. H. --

Fervent young followers wear his "revolution" T-shirts and chant his name as he steps to the podium of New England College: "Ron Paul, Ron Paul."

But the libertarian-leaning Texas lawmaker running a third campaign for the White House is having difficulty attracting mainstream Republicans to his candidacy in a fractured primary battle.

Paul, 76, remains undaunted by that task and says his campaign is catching on with those suffering in a crumbling economy and an ongoing war.

"People are waking up," Paul said in an interview following a speech here. "This economy is in shambles and they are tired of being in a war that has lasted 10 years. They know printing money doesn't make you rich and they are coming around to the issues I have been talking about for years."

Considered a second-tier presidential candidate by analysts, Paul nevertheless passed an early test on organization when he took second in the Iowa Straw Poll. Recent polls in New Hampshire, scheduled to hold the first presidential primary Feb. 14, 2012, show him hovering near 10 percent.

And while Paul has a national following, he remains far behind the GOP front-runners, namely Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Polls show Tea Party supporters are divided among Paul, Perry and Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn.

Paul has served 12 terms in Congress. His Texas district stretches from the Houston suburbs and Galveston to Aransas Pass. He is extremely popular in his district and was re-elected in 2010 with 76 percent of the vote.

His re-elections have come without compromising his principles. Paul has consistently voted against farm and agriculture subsidies, even though his congressional district is home to Texas' $120 million rice industry.

And he has repeatedly refused, as a member of Congress, to sign up for a government pension, saying it would be hypocritical. It is a line that draws applause in his stump speech.

Born in Pittsburgh, Paul received his medical degree from Duke University before serving in the Air Force and the Air National Guard during most of the 1960s, later settling in Texas where he went into private practice as a physician.

He has five children, including son Rand Paul, who espouses similar libertarian views as his father and was elected to the U.S. Senate from Kentucky in 2010, largely with the help of Tea Party supporters.

The author of six books, Paul is widely viewed as an early architect of the Tea Party movement with his constant critiques of U.S. monetary policy, and calls for a return to a modified form of the gold standard.

Paul is considered an isolationist on foreign policy and is a frequent critic of Bush administration policies and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Paul has ruled out a third-party run if he fails to capture the GOP nod, and he has placed all bets on this run for the White House. If he loses his presidential bid, Paul said he is ready to leave Congress. He has no plans to run for Senate.