CHARLESTON, S.C. — Texas congressman Ron Paul will absolutely not run as a third-party candidate, spokesman Jesse Benton said after the debate Thursday.

“He’s got absolutely no plans or intentions to do it. He doesn’t want to do it. It’s not gonna happen,” Benton said.

When asked personally, Paul has not ruled out the option definitively enough to quash speculation. Benton explained that Paul remains noncommittal because he is leaving open the option of some kind of near-apocalyptic financial event.

“He doesn’t rule it out 100 percent because if there were some sort of financially catastrophic event in this country where the leadership of a third party was needed, he would entertain the thought,” Benton said. “But given the foreseeable dynamics in this country, there’s absolutely no chance he could win.”

Benton portrayed that catastrophic event as “Weimar Republic-style inflation,” a scenario he said the country is “not even close” to having happen.

“I mean it’s just not gonna happen,” Benton concluded. “Ron’s not running third-party.”

Follow Alexis on Twitter