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10-16-2011, 01:22 AM
A Time Traveler from 2012: How Ron Paul Won the GOP Nomination
OR, An American Story: How One Man Defied All the Odds to Win on Principle
Written by a senior staffer to Mitt Romney at his Massachusetts headquarters.
September 5th, 2012
We thought was all sealed up, as the fall leaves began to fall last year. The race for the Republican nomination was coming down to Rick Perry, Herman Cain, and Mitt Romney. Sure, Ron Paul, Michele Bachmann, and Newt Gingrich had their supporters. However, the race was winnowing and it seemed as October rolled along that Romney and his two primary foes would be in for a long battle. The battle would be long, alright. But few of us realized just how it would turn out.
From my perspective, the turning point of the race came around the time of the Western Republican Debate in Nevada, October 18. Mitt did really well, as always, keeping on message and deflecting the usual criticisms from the other candidates. Perry came out a bit stronger than usual, telling everyone in sight how he had the money to go the distance. Cain was actually running fairly well too. It was a standard debate in every sense, but right at the end, something was different. You could tell that Ron Paul was getting agitated.
One of the last questions asked was about the Federal Reserve system. As had been the case in prior debates, Paul did not get the question. Instead, Herman Cain responded, Perry, Bachmann. Anderson Cooper was about to shift into closing statements when Ron Paul spoke up. He had been waving his hand, first slightly and then more furiously. They had pretended not to notice. But all the microphones were live.
“Excuse me!” he exclaimed. “I haven't been given a chance here.”
“Congressman, you've had your chance just like the others –“ Anderson said, before Paul cut him off.
“No, I have not. I have stood here quietly, I have respected the process, but I have to make a point -”
“- But congressman -” It was hopeless. Anderson wasn't going to stop him. Ron Paul started speaking. The stage was quiet. He had never done this before, that anyone could remember. The quiet congressman from Texas really wanted it, he needed to make his point. Nothing stood in his way.
“All of the other candidates, these others here on stage,” he said, “are all good people. I have no doubt about that. But the question is, if we are honest with ourselves, we have to ask ourselves what do we want out of a president?”
At this point, Herman Cain interjected himself. “Mister Paul, you have gone too far. Stop wasting people's time!” Audibly, one could hear Rick Santorum laughing in the background. The crowd began to laugh along with him, and mixed with it, a thunderous applause. But Ron Paul continued.
“Unlike you, I am not here to question a man's character. I am questioning the substance of our politics. What does our country mean anymore? What is the matter with standing up for our Constitution? Surely, when a Republican cannot stand on this stage and stand for the Constitution, we have a serious problem. If you would like to challenge me on that, or anyone else for that matter, I am open to the challenge. My consistency is unmatched. You may not agree with everything I say, you may not think I give the best speeches, but I am here for a purpose that is much bigger than this campaign. Can't you understand that?
Our liberties have been destroyed in America. From our TSA strip-searching little children and old ladies to our president declaring that he has the authority to assassinate any American he wishes, are we really the country we were founded to be?
Our military forces are being used for humanitarian reasons in Libya and now, in other parts of Africa too! We have been told that we should be a world leader, and yet while we build bridges abroad, our own bridges fall down at home. All the while, these acts of war are never declared, and the Constitution is trampled on in the process. Why do we accept the unjust use of force to try and do good in the world, when we cannot afford it and our Constitution prohibits it?
Innocent human life by the millions is killed every single year, because we continue to accept the idea that life is not precious. But if we do not protect life, how can we even begin to protect liberty?
Our pocketbooks have been destroyed, too! The federal reserve prints money out of thin air, devalues the currency, and leaves middle-class savings destroyed. Meanwhile, special interests are plundering our treasury, with hands held out they take the people's money to enrich themselves. Our national debt is higher than ever, but the will to fix it is less than ever before. Obamacare forces us to accept socialized medicine, only two decades after socialism was defeated. What is happening to our country?
If we are going to fix this problem we must understand liberty. If we expect government to take care of us from cradle to grave, then we will still have the bailouts and the endless wars. We will still have a president who does whatever he wants.
But if we want to really change this country, we have to get away from the soundbites and the endless rhetoric. We have to do something we have not done in many years. We have to embrace the principles that founded our republic. We have to embrace the Constitution.
That is why I am running for President of the United States. And I demand to be heard like the rest, because this message means something.”
After he finished speaking, there was a silence in the room for a moment. Nobody knew what to do; how could you, when a quiet man like Ron Paul had just thrust himself into the debate that way?
Then, suddenly, a wave of applause started. First at the back, then to the front of the room, seemingly the entire crowd stood at its feet with the loudest applause of the night. Cheers erupted, and clearly it wasn't just Paul supporters.
Ron Paul had just stolen the show.
The other candidates didn't know what to do, and Anderson Cooper took a break. Upon return, the candidates gave their rehearsed closing statements, and Ron Paul seemed to have an extra vigor when he gave his. The debate wrapped up, and then CNN went to Gloria Borger, who immediately had the following reaction.
“Wow, Ron Paul really came out tonight. I don't know if I have ever seen that from any candidate. And Anderson, the crowd loved it.” The panel mostly agreed, though a few felt it was over the top. Clearly, Ron Paul had come to play. And by and large, he played very well indeed. That was October 18.
At midnight Eastern Standard time, October 19 began. For Ron Paul, it brought vindication.
Donations poured into his campaign website in a way that never seemed possible before. Sure, Paul was known for his fundraising prowess – even our folks at Romney HQ admitted that much. But what happened the morning of October 19 was nothing short of incredible.
By 1am EST, Ron Paul had raised a million dollars. By 3am, the total was right at 2 million. And by 6am EST, when the morning news shows were all getting their start, Paul had raised 3 million dollars from online donations.
It was the top story on every channel; who could possibly ignore it? Not only his thunderous debate performance the night before, but what had happened since. Joe Scarborough was heard to say “this may be the turning point in the race, in a way we could never have imagined.” He wasn't the only one who felt that way.
At noon, Paul had raised almost 5 million dollars from his moneybomb, and it kept pouring in. Every single show had it as not simply a top story, but THE top story. Who could ignore such incredible numbers?
All told, as the day came to a close, Ron Paul had raised just over 10 million dollars.
A ten million dollar day. From a guy most of us, until that time, had essentially written off.
Needless to say, Paul was the top story for several days. He appeared on every manner of television program the next couple of days, from Jay Leno to Bill O'Reilly and Jon Stewart even rushed him on for a quick appearance. It was an incredible week for him. That weekend, he was on every political Sunday show.
By the time the next national polls came out, the next Wednesday, Ron Paul was polling in the low 20s. Still behind Mitt, but now ahead of both Cain and Perry. It seemed unbelievable, but the words “top-tier” and “Ron Paul” crossed the lips of more than a few broadcasters and journalists that week – within the same sentence!
The campaign rolled along. It was different, but it was the same. The only difference was that Ron Paul was now treated as a real candidate with a real – if still long-shot – chance at the nomination. When the first Iowa poll rolled in that had Ron Paul soaring to the high 20s ahead of the rest of the field, it seemed a foregone conclusion that he would seriously contend the Iowa caucuses. The first New Hampshire poll to come out during this time also placed him in the 20s – again, still behind Mitt, but well ahead of the others.
Our own campaign with Mitt went very well during this time also. Ron Paul, for the time being, was becoming the anti-Romney and splitting the conservative votes with the others to some extent. Mitt was still atop the polls in November and through December, in fact increasing his standing as an anti-Paul vote came our way. Cain and Perry still stuck around in the teens, as both had faded substantially from their highs. And Ron Paul was in the low 20s, not to be shaken from that position. We all did the best we could, all of the campaigns, but the best campaigns were our own and Ron Paul's, without a doubt. Perry did get better as time went on, and he had the money to go the distance as well all knew. But... The real test would be Iowa. That was January 3.
In the weeks leading up to Iowa, poor polling had convinced Newt Gingrich and Michele Bachmann to drop out. Rick Santorum pledged to stay through at least the Iowa caucus, though his mid-single-digits numbers gave him little shot at victory. Gingrich endorsed Cain immediately, and after a few days of speculation, Bachmann threw behind Ron Paul.
It had been cold and frigid in the Midwest in late December, and snow was on the forecast for caucus day. That prior weekend, we were all on edge. Sarah Palin had announced she would make a big announcement two days before the caucus. What she did would have a bearing on the race, no doubt. Our campaign had done its best to win her endorsement, but not good enough. An early leak from a Palin aide had her endorsing Rick Perry, which could have muddied the waters. What happened was far worse.
“What we need in America right now are fighters!” Palin roared at her announcement. “That's why I have never been so proud as I am now, to stand behind a man of true conviction -”
And a pause. Palin looked around, as Steve King must have done four years earlier when, at the last minute, he switched his endorsement from Romney to Fred Thompson. Palin smiled.
“That man is Ron Paul!”
If it could have been any worse, I couldn't have imagined it. The night of January 3, all of the media outlets reported the results with stunned faces.
“Ron Paul has won the Iowa caucuses, with just over 30% of the vote.”
Mitt placed a strong second, though, with 25%, and Cain and Perry were in the high teens. Santorum, who finished with only 6%, dropped out and endorsed us. We were pretty confident our close finish in a state we hadn't seriously contested was enough to galvanize our support in New Hampshire. Thankfully, we were not proven wrong on that.
The next week's New Hampshire primary brought a resounding 38% of the vote for Mitt, but Ron Paul had surged to finish just under 30%. Huntsman finished around 15%, and the rest much lower. Huntsman dropped out the day after, and endorsed Mitt.
We were not surprised when we lost Nevada to Paul, because he had the best organization there by far. We had done a good deal of work, though, and his victory of 35% was close with our 30%. Perry surprisingly finished right up behind Mitt, but he had poured a lot of money into Nevada in a last-ditch effort to win an early primary before South Carolina.
Going into South Carolina, everyone was on edge. How could you not be? Our guy, who had cruised to this point, was being challenged by someone we never had given much thought to until recently. But South Carolina had been won by John McCain, and we thought that we, too, could win there if our turnout was right.
Jim Demint announced right after the Nevada caucus that he would be endorsing Ron Paul, Perry won Nikki Haley's endorsement, and the congressional delegation split between Perry, us, and Paul. It was truly anyone's game. Although we hadn't as many endorsements from big players, a lot of local guys came our way.
Herman Cain had been surprisingly strong there, and in the final month before South Carolina actually woken up and begun campaigning. Rick Perry was the sleeper favorite, as besides Nevada, he had spent by far the most money in South Carolina in an attempt to appeal to the social conservative vote there.
When the results came down that night of January 21, all the candidates were virtually even in a way that nobody could have predicted. Incredibly, though, Perry had squeaked out a win. He had somehow galvanized the social conservatives against Ron Paul and Mitt and turned his voters out better than anyone.
The results were: Perry 27%, we had about 26%, Ron Paul 23%, and Herman Cain 19%.
The next week brought Florida, where we won with 32% of the vote to Ron Paul's 24% and Herman Cain's 21%. Cain had staked it all on Florida, and didn't have the ability to win this last crucial early test. The night of the primary, he dropped out of the race and endorsed Rick Perry.
At this point, it had become a three-person race. Mitt, Ron Paul, and Rick Perry. Each of our campaigns had the money to compete. February brought as much national campaigning as anything, gearing up for Super Tuesday and trying to grab the in-between states as best we could.
Paul won the Maine, Colorado, Minnesota, and Washington caucuses. We won Arizona and Michigan. Perry finished well enough in each of these, but couldn't close the deal on any of them.
March 6 was Super Tuesday. Each candidate came out strong.
Mitt had won Massachussetts, Ohio, Vermont, and Virginia. Ron Paul won Alaska, Idaho, Tennessee, and North Dakota. Perry finally notched some more wins, all of them close, in Georgia, Oklahoma, and fairly resoundingly in Texas. Ron Paul nearly won Texas, but Perry had edged him out by campaigning hard through February there.
The next two weeks brought a smattering of other primaries. Paul won the Wyoming, Kansas, Virgin Islands, and Hawaii caucuses, in what was clearly his strong suit. His supporters literally would crawl over broken glass to get to those caucuses, and nobody figured him on losing any. Perry managed to win the Missouri caucus by a nose, and he also won Alabama. We won Mississippi, thanks to a push by Haley Barbour, but between the caucuses and the southern states, we hadn't expected to do well.
We managed to win in Illinois on March 20, with 40% of the vote. Paul won Lousiana. On April 3, we swept Maryland and the District of Columbia, while Paul won Wisconsin barely.
The next primaries weren't until April 24, a bunch of Northeastern states, and at this point even the insiders were calling for Perry to drop out. It didn't seem possible that he would be able to make what little momentum he had left last long enough to get to May, when more southern states would be voting.
Sure enough, on April 10, Rick Perry dropped out of the race. As expected, he endorsed us. The nomination was in our grasp, and Mitt was almost surely going to be the GOP candidate and, by extension, the next president.
But in a season of surprises, one shouldn't be shocked when they are indeed surprised. That is exactly what happened to Romney HQ come the April 24 primaries.
Paul ended up almost sweeping the damn thing. He won Connecticut, Delaware, New York, and Pennsylvania. We did win Rhode Island, but Paul's come-from-behind wins in each of these states was truly unexpected. The path to the nomination got a bit rockier for us, much smoother for Paul. And it only stayed that way.
Paul managed to win North Carolina, Indiana, and West Virginia on May 8. He won Nebraska and Oregon on May 15. He destroyed us in Arkansas and Kentucky on May 22.
We had an ace up our sleeve, though. We could still get our delegates in California and New Jersey on June 5. We put everything we had into those states.
Our ads were stellar, and our ground game spectacular. But at the end of the day, we couldn't pull it out. Paul managed wins in California AND New Jersey, both close, but both won nonetheless. He won New Mexico, South Dakota, and Montana to boot. He would go on to win Utah as well.
The convention came, in late August. Paul had the delegates to win, by most measures, but we were close behind. Perry's delegates and some late Paul switches could possibly steal the show. Mitt continued to campaign through the summer, arguing that the most electable candidate was himself, and that Ron Paul would be slaughtered in a general election against Obama. It seemed to be effective for a while – we had a few switchers from Paul's camp from some of those Northeastern states, and it seemed for a moment that the nomination would again be in our grasp.
But come the convention, Paul won on the first ballot. He had 59% of the delegates. He was the GOP nominee.
Were we, at that point, surprised? Sure we were. Who couldn't be, to be beaten by a country doctor with libertarian views in a party he had once rejected? But it was a sign of the times.
Mitt graciously endorsed Ron Paul, and showed his full support after he lost on the convention ballot. It was an extraordinary race, the voters had spoken, and although not everyone was thrilled with the result, we all knew we had to beat Obama.
Before Ron Paul's acceptance speech, a video montage of some of his early and later House floor speeches was played, to show his consistency. Another video showed several veterans who served with him testifying to his service to our country. Also, Carol Paul spoke. Her heartwarming words only reaffirmed to everyone that this was the right guy. We had gotten it right this year. That was the realization among almost all present, whatever their position had once been. It was also announced that Paul's VP would be none other than Jim DeMint, who had helped him to finish strong in South Carolina and convinced so many in the party to come on board him campaign. It was a good choice, and showed that Paul was serious about uniting the party. DeMint himself gave one heck of a speech.
Paul gave perhaps the best speech he has ever given at the convention. I don't doubt that the fire was lit within the man. Perhaps, you could say, the fire of conviction. The fire of liberty.
Now we are in September. Since the conclusion of the convention, Ron Paul is polling ahead of Barack Obama by 5 to 10 points depending on the poll. He is crushing with independent voters, and Obama is doing everything he can to pin Ron Paul down, but having great trouble.
What most of us never realized about Ron Paul until now is that he is incredibly resilient. Nothing sticks to the guy. Sure, he has principles, unusual by political standards. But even more, the fact that he has stood by them for so many years means that you can't paint him as a “flip flopper.” You can't say he isn't a good man, because he has shown character and strong personal values.
And no longer can you say he is “unelectable.”
During the convention, and after the balloting, a colleague and friend on the Romney campaign asked me where Paul's campaign took off. What got it to where it was now?
As I thought back, over this story, I realized that it was that money bomb on October 19, 2011 – where he raised 10 million dollars and said to the world that he was a real, serious candidate for the nomination. Where he made his stand.
And soon, he will be making his stand in the White House. Truly, an American story.
OR, An American Story: How One Man Defied All the Odds to Win on Principle
Written by a senior staffer to Mitt Romney at his Massachusetts headquarters.
September 5th, 2012
We thought was all sealed up, as the fall leaves began to fall last year. The race for the Republican nomination was coming down to Rick Perry, Herman Cain, and Mitt Romney. Sure, Ron Paul, Michele Bachmann, and Newt Gingrich had their supporters. However, the race was winnowing and it seemed as October rolled along that Romney and his two primary foes would be in for a long battle. The battle would be long, alright. But few of us realized just how it would turn out.
From my perspective, the turning point of the race came around the time of the Western Republican Debate in Nevada, October 18. Mitt did really well, as always, keeping on message and deflecting the usual criticisms from the other candidates. Perry came out a bit stronger than usual, telling everyone in sight how he had the money to go the distance. Cain was actually running fairly well too. It was a standard debate in every sense, but right at the end, something was different. You could tell that Ron Paul was getting agitated.
One of the last questions asked was about the Federal Reserve system. As had been the case in prior debates, Paul did not get the question. Instead, Herman Cain responded, Perry, Bachmann. Anderson Cooper was about to shift into closing statements when Ron Paul spoke up. He had been waving his hand, first slightly and then more furiously. They had pretended not to notice. But all the microphones were live.
“Excuse me!” he exclaimed. “I haven't been given a chance here.”
“Congressman, you've had your chance just like the others –“ Anderson said, before Paul cut him off.
“No, I have not. I have stood here quietly, I have respected the process, but I have to make a point -”
“- But congressman -” It was hopeless. Anderson wasn't going to stop him. Ron Paul started speaking. The stage was quiet. He had never done this before, that anyone could remember. The quiet congressman from Texas really wanted it, he needed to make his point. Nothing stood in his way.
“All of the other candidates, these others here on stage,” he said, “are all good people. I have no doubt about that. But the question is, if we are honest with ourselves, we have to ask ourselves what do we want out of a president?”
At this point, Herman Cain interjected himself. “Mister Paul, you have gone too far. Stop wasting people's time!” Audibly, one could hear Rick Santorum laughing in the background. The crowd began to laugh along with him, and mixed with it, a thunderous applause. But Ron Paul continued.
“Unlike you, I am not here to question a man's character. I am questioning the substance of our politics. What does our country mean anymore? What is the matter with standing up for our Constitution? Surely, when a Republican cannot stand on this stage and stand for the Constitution, we have a serious problem. If you would like to challenge me on that, or anyone else for that matter, I am open to the challenge. My consistency is unmatched. You may not agree with everything I say, you may not think I give the best speeches, but I am here for a purpose that is much bigger than this campaign. Can't you understand that?
Our liberties have been destroyed in America. From our TSA strip-searching little children and old ladies to our president declaring that he has the authority to assassinate any American he wishes, are we really the country we were founded to be?
Our military forces are being used for humanitarian reasons in Libya and now, in other parts of Africa too! We have been told that we should be a world leader, and yet while we build bridges abroad, our own bridges fall down at home. All the while, these acts of war are never declared, and the Constitution is trampled on in the process. Why do we accept the unjust use of force to try and do good in the world, when we cannot afford it and our Constitution prohibits it?
Innocent human life by the millions is killed every single year, because we continue to accept the idea that life is not precious. But if we do not protect life, how can we even begin to protect liberty?
Our pocketbooks have been destroyed, too! The federal reserve prints money out of thin air, devalues the currency, and leaves middle-class savings destroyed. Meanwhile, special interests are plundering our treasury, with hands held out they take the people's money to enrich themselves. Our national debt is higher than ever, but the will to fix it is less than ever before. Obamacare forces us to accept socialized medicine, only two decades after socialism was defeated. What is happening to our country?
If we are going to fix this problem we must understand liberty. If we expect government to take care of us from cradle to grave, then we will still have the bailouts and the endless wars. We will still have a president who does whatever he wants.
But if we want to really change this country, we have to get away from the soundbites and the endless rhetoric. We have to do something we have not done in many years. We have to embrace the principles that founded our republic. We have to embrace the Constitution.
That is why I am running for President of the United States. And I demand to be heard like the rest, because this message means something.”
After he finished speaking, there was a silence in the room for a moment. Nobody knew what to do; how could you, when a quiet man like Ron Paul had just thrust himself into the debate that way?
Then, suddenly, a wave of applause started. First at the back, then to the front of the room, seemingly the entire crowd stood at its feet with the loudest applause of the night. Cheers erupted, and clearly it wasn't just Paul supporters.
Ron Paul had just stolen the show.
The other candidates didn't know what to do, and Anderson Cooper took a break. Upon return, the candidates gave their rehearsed closing statements, and Ron Paul seemed to have an extra vigor when he gave his. The debate wrapped up, and then CNN went to Gloria Borger, who immediately had the following reaction.
“Wow, Ron Paul really came out tonight. I don't know if I have ever seen that from any candidate. And Anderson, the crowd loved it.” The panel mostly agreed, though a few felt it was over the top. Clearly, Ron Paul had come to play. And by and large, he played very well indeed. That was October 18.
At midnight Eastern Standard time, October 19 began. For Ron Paul, it brought vindication.
Donations poured into his campaign website in a way that never seemed possible before. Sure, Paul was known for his fundraising prowess – even our folks at Romney HQ admitted that much. But what happened the morning of October 19 was nothing short of incredible.
By 1am EST, Ron Paul had raised a million dollars. By 3am, the total was right at 2 million. And by 6am EST, when the morning news shows were all getting their start, Paul had raised 3 million dollars from online donations.
It was the top story on every channel; who could possibly ignore it? Not only his thunderous debate performance the night before, but what had happened since. Joe Scarborough was heard to say “this may be the turning point in the race, in a way we could never have imagined.” He wasn't the only one who felt that way.
At noon, Paul had raised almost 5 million dollars from his moneybomb, and it kept pouring in. Every single show had it as not simply a top story, but THE top story. Who could ignore such incredible numbers?
All told, as the day came to a close, Ron Paul had raised just over 10 million dollars.
A ten million dollar day. From a guy most of us, until that time, had essentially written off.
Needless to say, Paul was the top story for several days. He appeared on every manner of television program the next couple of days, from Jay Leno to Bill O'Reilly and Jon Stewart even rushed him on for a quick appearance. It was an incredible week for him. That weekend, he was on every political Sunday show.
By the time the next national polls came out, the next Wednesday, Ron Paul was polling in the low 20s. Still behind Mitt, but now ahead of both Cain and Perry. It seemed unbelievable, but the words “top-tier” and “Ron Paul” crossed the lips of more than a few broadcasters and journalists that week – within the same sentence!
The campaign rolled along. It was different, but it was the same. The only difference was that Ron Paul was now treated as a real candidate with a real – if still long-shot – chance at the nomination. When the first Iowa poll rolled in that had Ron Paul soaring to the high 20s ahead of the rest of the field, it seemed a foregone conclusion that he would seriously contend the Iowa caucuses. The first New Hampshire poll to come out during this time also placed him in the 20s – again, still behind Mitt, but well ahead of the others.
Our own campaign with Mitt went very well during this time also. Ron Paul, for the time being, was becoming the anti-Romney and splitting the conservative votes with the others to some extent. Mitt was still atop the polls in November and through December, in fact increasing his standing as an anti-Paul vote came our way. Cain and Perry still stuck around in the teens, as both had faded substantially from their highs. And Ron Paul was in the low 20s, not to be shaken from that position. We all did the best we could, all of the campaigns, but the best campaigns were our own and Ron Paul's, without a doubt. Perry did get better as time went on, and he had the money to go the distance as well all knew. But... The real test would be Iowa. That was January 3.
In the weeks leading up to Iowa, poor polling had convinced Newt Gingrich and Michele Bachmann to drop out. Rick Santorum pledged to stay through at least the Iowa caucus, though his mid-single-digits numbers gave him little shot at victory. Gingrich endorsed Cain immediately, and after a few days of speculation, Bachmann threw behind Ron Paul.
It had been cold and frigid in the Midwest in late December, and snow was on the forecast for caucus day. That prior weekend, we were all on edge. Sarah Palin had announced she would make a big announcement two days before the caucus. What she did would have a bearing on the race, no doubt. Our campaign had done its best to win her endorsement, but not good enough. An early leak from a Palin aide had her endorsing Rick Perry, which could have muddied the waters. What happened was far worse.
“What we need in America right now are fighters!” Palin roared at her announcement. “That's why I have never been so proud as I am now, to stand behind a man of true conviction -”
And a pause. Palin looked around, as Steve King must have done four years earlier when, at the last minute, he switched his endorsement from Romney to Fred Thompson. Palin smiled.
“That man is Ron Paul!”
If it could have been any worse, I couldn't have imagined it. The night of January 3, all of the media outlets reported the results with stunned faces.
“Ron Paul has won the Iowa caucuses, with just over 30% of the vote.”
Mitt placed a strong second, though, with 25%, and Cain and Perry were in the high teens. Santorum, who finished with only 6%, dropped out and endorsed us. We were pretty confident our close finish in a state we hadn't seriously contested was enough to galvanize our support in New Hampshire. Thankfully, we were not proven wrong on that.
The next week's New Hampshire primary brought a resounding 38% of the vote for Mitt, but Ron Paul had surged to finish just under 30%. Huntsman finished around 15%, and the rest much lower. Huntsman dropped out the day after, and endorsed Mitt.
We were not surprised when we lost Nevada to Paul, because he had the best organization there by far. We had done a good deal of work, though, and his victory of 35% was close with our 30%. Perry surprisingly finished right up behind Mitt, but he had poured a lot of money into Nevada in a last-ditch effort to win an early primary before South Carolina.
Going into South Carolina, everyone was on edge. How could you not be? Our guy, who had cruised to this point, was being challenged by someone we never had given much thought to until recently. But South Carolina had been won by John McCain, and we thought that we, too, could win there if our turnout was right.
Jim Demint announced right after the Nevada caucus that he would be endorsing Ron Paul, Perry won Nikki Haley's endorsement, and the congressional delegation split between Perry, us, and Paul. It was truly anyone's game. Although we hadn't as many endorsements from big players, a lot of local guys came our way.
Herman Cain had been surprisingly strong there, and in the final month before South Carolina actually woken up and begun campaigning. Rick Perry was the sleeper favorite, as besides Nevada, he had spent by far the most money in South Carolina in an attempt to appeal to the social conservative vote there.
When the results came down that night of January 21, all the candidates were virtually even in a way that nobody could have predicted. Incredibly, though, Perry had squeaked out a win. He had somehow galvanized the social conservatives against Ron Paul and Mitt and turned his voters out better than anyone.
The results were: Perry 27%, we had about 26%, Ron Paul 23%, and Herman Cain 19%.
The next week brought Florida, where we won with 32% of the vote to Ron Paul's 24% and Herman Cain's 21%. Cain had staked it all on Florida, and didn't have the ability to win this last crucial early test. The night of the primary, he dropped out of the race and endorsed Rick Perry.
At this point, it had become a three-person race. Mitt, Ron Paul, and Rick Perry. Each of our campaigns had the money to compete. February brought as much national campaigning as anything, gearing up for Super Tuesday and trying to grab the in-between states as best we could.
Paul won the Maine, Colorado, Minnesota, and Washington caucuses. We won Arizona and Michigan. Perry finished well enough in each of these, but couldn't close the deal on any of them.
March 6 was Super Tuesday. Each candidate came out strong.
Mitt had won Massachussetts, Ohio, Vermont, and Virginia. Ron Paul won Alaska, Idaho, Tennessee, and North Dakota. Perry finally notched some more wins, all of them close, in Georgia, Oklahoma, and fairly resoundingly in Texas. Ron Paul nearly won Texas, but Perry had edged him out by campaigning hard through February there.
The next two weeks brought a smattering of other primaries. Paul won the Wyoming, Kansas, Virgin Islands, and Hawaii caucuses, in what was clearly his strong suit. His supporters literally would crawl over broken glass to get to those caucuses, and nobody figured him on losing any. Perry managed to win the Missouri caucus by a nose, and he also won Alabama. We won Mississippi, thanks to a push by Haley Barbour, but between the caucuses and the southern states, we hadn't expected to do well.
We managed to win in Illinois on March 20, with 40% of the vote. Paul won Lousiana. On April 3, we swept Maryland and the District of Columbia, while Paul won Wisconsin barely.
The next primaries weren't until April 24, a bunch of Northeastern states, and at this point even the insiders were calling for Perry to drop out. It didn't seem possible that he would be able to make what little momentum he had left last long enough to get to May, when more southern states would be voting.
Sure enough, on April 10, Rick Perry dropped out of the race. As expected, he endorsed us. The nomination was in our grasp, and Mitt was almost surely going to be the GOP candidate and, by extension, the next president.
But in a season of surprises, one shouldn't be shocked when they are indeed surprised. That is exactly what happened to Romney HQ come the April 24 primaries.
Paul ended up almost sweeping the damn thing. He won Connecticut, Delaware, New York, and Pennsylvania. We did win Rhode Island, but Paul's come-from-behind wins in each of these states was truly unexpected. The path to the nomination got a bit rockier for us, much smoother for Paul. And it only stayed that way.
Paul managed to win North Carolina, Indiana, and West Virginia on May 8. He won Nebraska and Oregon on May 15. He destroyed us in Arkansas and Kentucky on May 22.
We had an ace up our sleeve, though. We could still get our delegates in California and New Jersey on June 5. We put everything we had into those states.
Our ads were stellar, and our ground game spectacular. But at the end of the day, we couldn't pull it out. Paul managed wins in California AND New Jersey, both close, but both won nonetheless. He won New Mexico, South Dakota, and Montana to boot. He would go on to win Utah as well.
The convention came, in late August. Paul had the delegates to win, by most measures, but we were close behind. Perry's delegates and some late Paul switches could possibly steal the show. Mitt continued to campaign through the summer, arguing that the most electable candidate was himself, and that Ron Paul would be slaughtered in a general election against Obama. It seemed to be effective for a while – we had a few switchers from Paul's camp from some of those Northeastern states, and it seemed for a moment that the nomination would again be in our grasp.
But come the convention, Paul won on the first ballot. He had 59% of the delegates. He was the GOP nominee.
Were we, at that point, surprised? Sure we were. Who couldn't be, to be beaten by a country doctor with libertarian views in a party he had once rejected? But it was a sign of the times.
Mitt graciously endorsed Ron Paul, and showed his full support after he lost on the convention ballot. It was an extraordinary race, the voters had spoken, and although not everyone was thrilled with the result, we all knew we had to beat Obama.
Before Ron Paul's acceptance speech, a video montage of some of his early and later House floor speeches was played, to show his consistency. Another video showed several veterans who served with him testifying to his service to our country. Also, Carol Paul spoke. Her heartwarming words only reaffirmed to everyone that this was the right guy. We had gotten it right this year. That was the realization among almost all present, whatever their position had once been. It was also announced that Paul's VP would be none other than Jim DeMint, who had helped him to finish strong in South Carolina and convinced so many in the party to come on board him campaign. It was a good choice, and showed that Paul was serious about uniting the party. DeMint himself gave one heck of a speech.
Paul gave perhaps the best speech he has ever given at the convention. I don't doubt that the fire was lit within the man. Perhaps, you could say, the fire of conviction. The fire of liberty.
Now we are in September. Since the conclusion of the convention, Ron Paul is polling ahead of Barack Obama by 5 to 10 points depending on the poll. He is crushing with independent voters, and Obama is doing everything he can to pin Ron Paul down, but having great trouble.
What most of us never realized about Ron Paul until now is that he is incredibly resilient. Nothing sticks to the guy. Sure, he has principles, unusual by political standards. But even more, the fact that he has stood by them for so many years means that you can't paint him as a “flip flopper.” You can't say he isn't a good man, because he has shown character and strong personal values.
And no longer can you say he is “unelectable.”
During the convention, and after the balloting, a colleague and friend on the Romney campaign asked me where Paul's campaign took off. What got it to where it was now?
As I thought back, over this story, I realized that it was that money bomb on October 19, 2011 – where he raised 10 million dollars and said to the world that he was a real, serious candidate for the nomination. Where he made his stand.
And soon, he will be making his stand in the White House. Truly, an American story.