Ron Paul ends presidential campaign
Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul said Saturday night he is ending his campaign but will keep spreading his message.
By KELLEY SHANNON
The Associated Press
MILWAUKEE — Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul said Saturday night he is ending his campaign but will keep spreading his message by working to help elect libertarian-leaning Republicans to public office around the country.
"The campaign is going to shift gears. It's going to accelerate. It's going to get much bigger," Paul told The Associated Press in an interview before a rally where he was making the announcement. "To me, it's a technical change."
In the interview, Paul said his political message would not change and that he'll continue to speak out about freedom and the Constitution, just as he has since he first ran for Congress from Texas.
"It's just now that there's so much more enthusiasm, and so many more people involved," he said. "This last year has been astounding. ... We have to keep it going."
The 76-year-old congressman won few delegates during the Republican primaries, but he raised large amounts of money online and developed a huge grass-roots following.
Jesse Benton, Paul's campaign spokesman, said Paul is beginning a "Campaign for Liberty."
The presidential campaign still has about $1.5 million in the bank, which can now be used for the new effort, Benton said, describing it as a "permanent campaign."
"We're going to work with the grass roots," Benton said. "People are really eager to continue and grow these efforts."
But Paul has refused to endorse the Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney, and he told the AP that was unlikely to change.
"I don't plan to," Paul said, explaining that he doesn't feel he can make an endorsement because of their disagreement on issues.
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