Everybody knew that Mitt Romney would win in New Hampshire. But the real success story of last night is Ron Paul, who came second, with 23.5 per cent of the vote. In 2008, he came fifth, with just eight per cent of the vote. Santorum, Gingrich and other ‘anti-Mitt’ candidates have risen and fallen, but Paul, who has refused to attack Romney directly in recent days, grows stronger and stronger.
The Paul campaign, as Grace Wyler reports, has been playing a long game. They have been focusing their efforts on states, such as Iowa, in which they can win substantial numbers of delegates ahead of the Republican National Convention in Tampa in August. The plan is to shape the future of American conservatism from there. They’ve hardly bothered in states such as Florida, which has ‘a winner-takes-all’ primary. Now that Paul has done better than anyone expected, his team might have to recalibrate their strategy.
Of course the 2012 nomination remains quite a few steps too far for Paul. But the ‘Ron Paul Movement’, which has always felt unfairly ignored by the Republican establishment and the media, might be close to exacting revenge. If Paul’s success continues, the Republican machine will be forced to acknowledge his growing power among grassroots conservatives. Might this pave the way for Senator Rand Paul, son of Ron, to emerge as the Republican frontrunner in 2016?
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