The rise of the Ron Paul Movement

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.