Texas congressman and 2012 Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul plans on holding a major rally for his supporters prior to the Republican National Convention in August, according to an announcement posted to his presidential campaign website.
The Ron Paul campaign signed a contract on Thursday to secure the University of South Florida’s 11,000-seat Sun Dome for Sunday August 26th, the day prior to the beginning of the three-day Republican National Convention, where presumptive Republican nominee is expected to accept the party’s nomination.
“The Republican National Convention is just around the corner, and the establishment is about to find out what you and I have known all along this election season – the future is ours!” Mr. Paul wrote supporters in an email sent out on Friday. “So on Aug. 26, the day before the convention convenes, I hope you’ll join me at a special rally to celebrate how far our message and movement have come this year.”
Ron Paul supporters plan on organizing their own three day Ron Paul festival, leading up to the rally that will feature the libertarian candidate.
During a recent appearance on CNN, Mr. Paul refused to endorse Mr. Romney, as he wants to have a strong presence at the campaign for his thousands of supporters who are expected to show up in strong numbers. Mr. Romney and Mr. Paul have different views of how the Republican party can not only win the general election, but also restore the economic vibrancy of the U.S. economy and reduce the national unemployment rate.
The Texas congressman has amassed a significant number of state delegates. The Republican party’s uniquely binding delegate rules has allowed Mr. Paul to build support, and the strong number of delegates could serve as providing Mr. Paul with credibility among Mr. Romney and the other top Republicans Tampa for the convention.
The Republican National Committee has approved of the pre-convention rally that will feature Mr. Paul, according to his campaign website, which further gives the Texas Republican and his supporters credibility for having their views heard on balancing the federal budget, scaling back government involvement in domestic affairs and drastically reducing the nation’s military presence in foreign countries.
Ron Paul campaign chairman said that the goal of the rally is to set a tone of “professionalism and respect” for the delegates that will be supporting Mr. Paul at the national convention. In recent weeks, both Mr. Paul and members of his campaign team have asked his supporters not to portray a negative or argumentative tone at the national convention, in an effort to make sure that his message for the Republican establishment is not shrouded by negative reports about his supporters.
The Ron Paul rally is not a ticketed event at the University of Southern Florida, so it will be interesting to see how many Ron Paul supporters travel from all over the country to show how much support their candidate has.
