Paul's Texas swing a sign he is in race to stay

The race is all but over, he has yet to win a single contest and regularly ranks last in nationwide polls, but presidential hopeful Ron Paul soldiers on.

"We plan to continue running hard, secure delegates and press the fight for limited, constitutional government in Tampa," campaign chairman Jesse Benton said in a statement released in response to Rick Santorum's withdrawal from the race on Tuesday.

The campaign may seem quixotic at this point, but observers and GOP officials say Paul has a reason for staying in the race all the way to the Republican National Convention in Tampa in late August. It's all about influence.

"He's a conviction politician; he wants to influence the platform," said Jim Granato, director of the University of Houston Center for Public Policy. "He wants to move the party more to small-government conservatism."

To help kick off a three-day swing through Texas this week - Fort Worth, College Station and San Antonio - the Paul campaign released a 30-second ad that characterized his rivals, including Santorum, in less-than-flattering terms. In the ad, Santorum is a "big-spending, debt-ceiling-raising, fiscal liberal," Newt Gingrich is a "moon colony guy" and Mitt Romney, the putative nominee, is "a moderate from Massachusetts."

The ad touts the longtime libertarian congressman from Lake Jackson as the only Texan and the only conservative in the race and then outlines provisions of his "Plan to Restore America." They include cutting $1 trillion in federal spending during his first year in the White House, balancing the federal budget in three years and eliminating five federal agencies.

A&M turnout: 3,000

With six weeks to go before Texans vote, Romney has 577 delegates out of a total of 1,144, while Paul has 51.

A spirited crowd of Ron Paul supporters gathered at A&M's Rudder Auditorium on Tuesday night, including UH senior Andrew Lane, holding sign, who traveled with four others from Houston for the rally. A spirited crowd of Ron Paul supporters gathered at A&M's Rudder Auditorium on Tuesday night, including UH senior Andrew Lane, holding sign, who traveled with four others from Houston for the rally. Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Paul's Texas swing a sign he is in race to stay 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

"Texas has 152 delegates up for grabs on May 29, keeping the race for the Republican nomination open," Benton said.

The 12-term congressman continues to attract crowds of enthusiastic supporters - nearly 7,000 people at UCLA last week, 8,500 at UC-Berkeley and close to 3,000 on the campus of Texas A&M University on Tuesday.

Although young, libertarian-leaning Paulites have a better record turning out for rallies than turning up at the polls, Paul can claim victory of sorts, even if he never wins a primary.

Granato maintains that the movement is growing and has been since at least 2000, thanks, in large part, to Paul. If Romney offers him a prime speaking spot at the national convention, the ideas the Texan has doggedly discussed during the campaign - monetary reform, for example - will attract even more attention.

Romney wants to make sure Paul does not peel off and run as a third-party candidate or urge his faithful followers to abandon the GOP, which may explain why both candidates have been relatively gentle with one another during the long campaign slog.

"I think enough common ground can be found to make sure he works enthusiastically against Barack Obama in the fall," said Steve Munisteri, chairman of the Republican Party of Texas.

Rand Paul on ticket?

Paul is running hard in Texas, Granato says, to gain more leverage at the convention. "It'll be interesting to see if he gets more delegates than Gingrich," who, as Granato notes, is staying in the race for the same reason Paul is."

Another way Romney can keep the elder Paul happy is to offer his son and ideological heir, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., a prominent convention speaking spot - or maybe even a spot on the ticket.

"I can see Rand Paul on a Romney ticket," Munisteri said, "but I think it's more likely that if Mitt Romney serves two terms as president, Rand will be a presidential candidate eight years from now."

joe.holley@chron.com