Just as everyone always assumed, Ron Paul never ended up being a major factor in the GOP primary race. Although his dogged and loyal followers are still busy securing delegates for this summer’s convention, Paul semi-suspends his campaign having won a grand total of zero states in terms of actual primary-day voting. In fact, he was one of the only Republican candidates to not even experience one of the race’s trademark fleeting bursts of momentum.
But Paul did improve greatly on his 2008 campaign, basically doubling his poll-measured popularity from one race to the other. It’s possible that the most enduring legacy of Paul’s 2012 campaign will be its role in nudging Paul’s brand of hard-core libertarianism further into the Republican mainstream, and consequently, helping to create a friendlier environment for an expected presidential run by his son Rand Paul in 2016.
As one last farewell, let us now relive some of the most memorable moments of Paul’s campaign, many of which involve Paul on a debate stage wearing an ill-fitting suit.
