Ignored by the media and dismissed by the Republican Party in general, liberty-minded Congressman Ron Paul leaped into third place today in the Gallup Presidential Nomination preference poll.
Paul jumped over Michele Bachmann, the Tea Party darling/lunatic, relegating her to fourth-place in the current poll. Here’s how the numbers shake out today.
- Rick Perry, Texas Governor: 29%
- Mitt Romney, former Massachusetts Governor: 17%
- Ron Paul, Texas Congressman: 13%
- Michele Bachmann, Minnesota Congresswoman: 10%
That’s right. Ron Paul jumped into third place…and the media continues to ignore his candidacy. I can’t explain it as anything other than outright bias against the man and his ideas.
One thing to take away from the poll is that it only includes current, declared candidates. It does not, for example, include potential candidates Donald Trump, Sarah Palin, Chris Christie, Rudolph Giuliani, or George Pataki – all of whom have made noise about possibly jumping into the race at a later date.
One of them could possibly be very successful following a later-entrant strategy. As of today, a full 17% of respondents indicated "no preference" in their vote.
Think about that for a minute. "None of the above" essentially takes second place right now, ahead of everyone but Rick Perry – and even Republicans aren’t crazy enough to nominate Rick Perry. This means one thing: there is room for either one of the marginalized candidates (like Ron Paul) to gain a lot of support, or a new candidate to emerge and become an instant challenger.
Given his three percent jump in the polls (despite the entrance of former Democrat and popular Texas governor Rick Perry into the race) shows that Ron Paul’s numbers are steady and rising. Are we witnessing the promised Ron Paul revolution, or has the Texas congressman maxed out his voter numbers? I suppose the analysis depends on who you ask.
Certainly experts are beginning to see the benefits of signing on to Team Ron Paul. The Ron Paul 2012 Presidential Campaign announced today that constitutional and international law expert Bruce Fein will join the campaign as senior advisor on legal matters.
