Ron Paul plans pre-convention event in Florida
Ron Paul’s campaign plans to hold its own event prior to the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., joining two other pro-Paul rallies seeking to preempt the GOP brouhaha.
The campaign, announcing the event Monday, said it will take place Aug. 26, the day before the GOP is set to begin its proceedings. The location and specifics of the rally have not yet been revealed.
Paul, while not in realistic contention for the GOP presidential nomination, will have a voice at the convention. Though he finished third in the Iowa caucuses, 23 of the state’s 28 delegates will be backing the Texas congressman at the convention, and through an in-depth knowledge of the intricacies of state primary rules, he holds delegates from Nevada, Maine and Minnesota.
“We’re going to hold up our values and we’re going to bring conservatism back to the mainline of the Republican Party,” said Paul’s former Iowa campaign director, Joel Kurtinitis.
The campaign has consistently claimed it will have about 200 delegates at the convention.
“While this total is not enough to win the nomination, it puts us in a tremendous position to grow our movement and shape the future of the GOP!” Paul said in an email sent to supporters earlier this month. “We have never had this kind of opportunity. There will be hundreds of your fellow supporters in Tampa who will be ready and willing to push the Republican Party back to its limited government, liberty roots.”
The two other events, Paul Festival 2012 and Freedom Festival 2012, are set for Aug. 24-26. Freedom Festival originated as an offshoot of the Paul Festival when several individuals working on the Paul Fest were concerned about logistical issues hounding the planning, and decided to form their own celebration of libertarian ideals. Tickets to the events range from the (election-year-themed) $20.12 one-day Freedom Pass to the Freedom Fest to Paul Fest’s $250 VIP passes.
Despite all of the fanfare around Paul in the buildup to the GOP convention, the congressman doesn’t plan to attend any event beyond his campaign’s, according to national chairman Jesse Benton.
[For the Record, 4:19 p.m. PST June 19: An earlier version of this post said Kurtinitis wrote the email to Ron Paul supporters. Actually, the email came from Paul.]
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