Paul pins hopes on caucus states

AUSTIN (KXAN) - A fourth-place Florida finish is not slowing down Texas Congressman Ron Paul ’s presidential campaign. Sticking to his strategy, he continues to focus on smaller caucus states that award delegates proportionately, opposed to the Sunshine State’s winner-takes-all 50-count sweep.

The 12-term congressman skipped campaigning in Florida, where former Gov. Mitt Romney claimed a victory on Tuesday. On Wednesday, he and his wife are in Nevada celebrating their 55th wedding anniversary, a state which holds its caucus this Saturday along with Maine.

In 2008, Paul placed a distant second behind Romney in Nevada with its heavy Mormon population – no doubt a benefit for the current front-runner. However, Paul has had a long-established presence in the state and is expected to do much better this time around.

While Paul’s money on-hand does not come close to Romney’s, by avoiding Florida he avoided the costly campaigning that state takes. So far, Paul has raised $25.3 million and spent $23.9 million on the election, reporting no debt along the way.

New campaign finance reports show Paul collected $13.3 million in the final quarter of 2012. $7.3 million of that were from donors giving less than $200 – a true sign of his grassroots support.

After this weekend’s caucuses, Minnesota and Colorado will vote on Tuesday, followed by Michigan and Arizona on Feb. 28. Most of those states are places where Paul has strong support.

To earn the nomination and continue with his current tactic, Paul’s campaign has said it will need to do well in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Hawaii, Alaska, North Dakota, Idaho, Maine, Minnesota, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri and Washington state.