This story was originally published on Tue Mar 19, 2013 12:21 PM EDT

During his presidential bids in 2008 and 2012, former Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) was an easy target for establishment Republicans to ridicule.

Many laughed at his demands to "end" the Federal Reserve and reinstitute the gold standard. At debates, they sometimes booed his non-interventionist views on foreign policy and national security. And he never won a single nominating contest during those two presidential runs, though he did rack up delegates in 2012.

But Paul -- and his son, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) -- could be the ones laughing now.

Indeed, Rand Paul's marathon filibuster on Wednesday against President Obama's pick to head the CIA -- joined by other GOP senators (including conservative stars like Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, as well as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell) -- was the latest evidence that the Pauls might have had a larger imprint on today's Republican Party than its last two presidential nominees.

Consider the libertarianism in the Tea Party, the calls to cut spending, the growing suspicion of the Federal Reserve, and some growing skepticism about the use of force.

That sounds much more like Ron Paul than John McCain or Mitt Romney. And son Rand is already being viewed as a potential 2016 presidential candidate.

But it also doesn't mean that all Republicans have jumped on board. On Thursday, McCain and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) took to the Senate floor to denounce Rand Paul's criticism of the Obama administration's drone program -- the issue at the heart of his filibuster.

"If Mr. Paul wants to be taken seriously, he needs to do more than pull political stunts that fire up impressionable libertarian kids in their college dorms," McCain said, quoting the conservative Wall Street Journal editorial page.

"To somehow allege or infer that the president of the United States is going to kill somebody like Jane Fonda or someone who disagrees with the policies is a stretch of imagination, which is frankly ridiculous," McCain added.

But that even this drone debate is taking place inside the GOP -- and that Cruz and Rubio joined Paul's filibuster -- shows the growing influence that the Pauls have had on the GOP and conservatism.

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Republican National Convention played host Wednesday evening to a tribute to Rep. Ron Paul, and signaled a potential passing of the torch to his son, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul.

Though the retiring Texas congressman was not in attendance for tonight's tribute, a series of lawmakers participated in a video toasting the career of Ron Paul, whose supporters have been a noticeable presence at the convention.

"Whether people want to admit it or not, Ron Paul changed the conversation," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said in the video.

Acolytes of Paul's brand of libertarian conservatism appeared as well, including Sens. Jim DeMint of South Carolina, Mike Lee of Utah and Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Reps. Jimmy Duncan of Tennessee, Justin Amash of Michigan and Walter Jones of North Carolina. Ron Paul and his wife appeared as well.

The Romney campaign had assented to the tribute as part of an overall effort to placate dedicated supporters of Paul, a two-time presidential candidate who sought to win enough delegates in a sufficient number of states to at least have his name put forth for nomination.

That effort prompted rules changes at the outset of this convention aimed at guarding against similar efforts to use the arcane delegate allocation rules to a grass-roots candidate's advantage.

But while the elder Paul appears set to exit the national stage, his son, Rand, appears poised to at least inherit supporters of his father, if not grow that coalition.

Rand Paul was welcomed to thunderous applause by supporters, some of whom chanted his name at the conclusion of the speech.

His speech continued the Republican "You Didn't Build That" attack, but featured one of the most forceful rebukes of President Barack Obama's health care reform law.

"I think if James Madison himself -- the father of the Constitution -- were here today he would agree with me: The whole damn thing is still unconstitutional!" he said.

Like his father, Rand Paul also broke with some Republican orthodoxies on foreign policy on a night set to feature some high-profile attacks on the Obama administration's national security record.

"Republicans must acknowledge that not every dollar spent on the military is necessary or well-spent," he said, drawing some cheers. (Many Republicans have sought to undo automatic defense spending cuts stipulated by the 2011 debt ceiling agreement.)

Rand Paul also won thunderous applause for warning against allowing curbs to civil rights in the name of national security.

"To thrive we must believe in ourselves again, and we must never -- never -- trade our liberty for any fleeting promise of security," he said.

Slideshow: Republican National Convention

Win Mcnamee / Getty Images

Republicans gather in Tampa, Florida to officially nominate Mitt Romney and his running mate, Paul Ryan, as the party's candidates for the 2012 presidential election.

Launch slideshow

TAMPA, Fla. -- Republican leaders pushed through contentious changes to delegate rules over the objection of conservatives and supporters of Texas Rep. Ron Paul.

Loud boos erupted Tuesday on the floor of the Republican National Convention as RNC Chairman Reince Priebus and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, ruled that a voice vote was sufficient to approve credentialing rules for delegates at future conventions.

Shannon Stapleton / Reuters

Delegates shout in protest over changes in Republican party rules that would restrict the impact of grassroots movements, before a vote to adopt the new rules during the second session of the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida, August 28, 2012.

Chants that sounded like "Seat them now!" did battle with chants of "U-S-A" from supportive delegates seeking to shout the protestors down.

The rules change essentially tightens party control over the manner in which delegates are allocated and bound to candidates.

The proposal prompted frustration from some supporters of Paul, whose campaign was able to appeal to the somewhat arcane rules of delegate allocation to win a majority of four states' delegations, despite having failed to win a single nominating contest.

Other conservatives -- including 2008 vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin -- had protested the move as a power play to shut out grassroots conservatives.

As Priebus and Boehner brought up the controversial rules change for a voice vote, supporters replied with loud "ayes," and almost equally vocal "noes."

When Boehner determined, in his capacity as the convention's permanent chairman, that the ayes had won it, cheers and boos mixed together in the convention hall.

TAMPA, Fla. -- Ron Paul's appearance Tuesday on the floor of the Republican National Convention evoked split conventions of the past as the retiring Texas congressman received a hero's welcome from supporters.

The former two-time GOP presidential candidate walked out to greet a roaring group of supporters from the Nevada delegation, one of several he won during the detailed process of allocating delegates to this convention.

When asked by NBC News what he hoped to accomplish by visiting the floor, Paul said, "Just saying hi to some friends from Nevada."

Paul supporters started chanted, "Let Him Speak!" When Romney supporters started chanting "Romney, Romney!" Paul backers screamed "Ron Paul! Ron Paul," drowning out the delegates pledged to the Republican nominee-in-waiting.

After posing for pictures and signing some autographs, Paul left the floor ahead of the official start of the session. The convention will feature a video tribute to Paul, and his son, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, will address delegates this week.

The Republican National Convention will pay tribute to Texas Rep. Ron Paul during the second night of its convention. 

Romney campaign adviser Russ Schriefer told reporters on Friday that the Romney campaign had assented to requests by Paul supporters to air a "short" film paying tribute to the retiring Texas congressman, who's attracted a devoted following in his two bids for the GOP presidential nomination. 

The film — along with a speaking slot Monday for the congressman's son, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul — is a nod toward the influence of Ron Paul, whose supporters, convention organizers have worried, might stir a small commotion during the roll call vote to nominate Romney. 

Richard Clement / Reuters

Rep. Ron Paul

Schriefer confirmed that convention delegates would vote to formally nominate Romney for president on Monday; the presumptive Republican nominee would become the official Republican nominee on Thursday night, when he accepts the nomination. (At this point, Romney would be able to access and spend funds he has raised for use in the general election campaign.)

Television networks have signaled that they will only broadcast three nights of coverage, raising the possibility that Monday's festivities — including a planned speech by Ann Romney — would be missed by a national audience. Schriefer wouldn't shoot down rumors that the Romney campaign might move Ann Romney's speech if the networks don't extend their coverage plans.

"I'm optimistic that the right thing will be done," he said. 

Other features of the convention include plans to feature fellow members of Romney's Mormon church, and 15 Olympians — meant to highlight Romney's widely acclaimed tenure as head of the Salt Lake City Olympics. Three Olympians will speak, most prominently Mike Eruzione, the captain of the 1980 U.S. "Miracle on Ice" Olympic hockey team. 

Organizers are pushing ahead with planning despite warnings of a major storm turning toward Tampa, the site of the convention. Schriefer boasted in particular of the modern backdrop onstage of speakers, which he described as a "Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired piece of architecture."

Despite the delegates he won during the Republican presidential primary season, Ron Paul won't be speaking at next week's Republican convention in Tampa, Fla.

But his presence will be felt there -- whether it's his supporters who will be flocking to the city or his son Rand, who will be speaking at the convention.

And there's also the possibility of a video tribute to the Texas congressman.

"We're told there's something special in the works on Tuesday paying tribute to Ron Paul," said Jesse Benton, Paul's national campaign manager.

Richard Clement / Reuters

U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, questions Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke (not pictured) during his testimony before the House Financial Services Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, in this July 21, 2009 file photo.

Rand's big speech
Perhaps the most high-profile Paul-related event at the convention will be Monday's primetime speech by Rand Paul, the freshman U.S. senator from Kentucky.

The last time Ron Paul actually attended a Republican National Convention was in 1976, when he led the Texas delegation as one of only four congressmen to endorse Ronald Reagan over Gerald Ford. And joining him on the convention floor was his son, Rand, who then was 13 years old.

Now the roles are sort of reversed.

“Rand will be speaking on Monday,” Benton said. “And Ron will be watching his son’s speech from someplace inside the venue.”

The speech the RNC "doesn't want the rest of America to hear"
Ron Paul will be speaking in Tampa, too -- just not at the convention.

On Sunday, he will deliver a keynote address to supporters at the University of South Florida’s Sun Dome at the campaign’s “We are the Future Rally,” which runs from noon to 6:00 pm ET. The sold-out venue seats 11,000, and Paul will deliver a speech he says “the Republican National Convention doesn’t want the rest of America to hear.” 

“The rally on Sunday is a celebration of our delegates and how far we’ve come,” Benton added. “So much of our message is being embraced by the Republican Party.”

In what was supposed to be a show of strength, the campaign originally planned to load its delegates on buses after the rally and take them to the RNC Welcome Reception at Tropicana Field so the group can “make a grand entrance.”

“This is our opportunity to show that we are the future of the Republican Party,” Paul wrote in an email to supporters earlier this month.

But that plan had to be changed this week due to logistics surrounding the high security at the venue. Paul-supporting delegates can acquire their own transportation to attend the official GOP welcome party or postpone mingling with rank and file Republicans to attend a “Liberty Rocks” after party being thrown by the campaign at Whiskey Joe’s Bar & Grill in Tampa. 

The after-party is open to everyone, and the more than 1,500 supporters expected to show up will be entertained by blues guitarist Jimmie Vaughan and John Popper from the Blues Traveler. In addition, delegates and alternates who are Paul supporters have been invited to a private reception with the Texas congressman before that party begins.

“For many, it’s not a choice,” one Paul staffer organizing the event said. “Delegates have a rare opportunity for a private reception with Dr. Paul and have their photo taken with him.”

The next morning, Paul will attend a fundraising breakfast sponsored by the Republican Party of Iowa.  The state’s GOP Chairman, A.J. Spiker, was a co-chair of Paul’s Iowa campaign and the unbound delegation from the Hawkeye state includes a majority of Paul supporters. 

Later on Monday, Paul will greet his supporters at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. 

A video tribute?
According to the campaign, the RNC is planning a special tribute to the 77-year-old Paul on the second night of the convention, which would mark a change in the party’s attitude towards the Texas congressman who has run for president three times and has started a small revolution inside the Grand Old Party. 

Convention organizers have not responded to repeated requests for confirmation, and the official schedule released for Tuesday makes no mention of a tribute to Paul. However, there are spots on the schedule labeled “Segment to be announced,” as well as “videos” during the evening –- which supporters believe will be where the party will place the tribute.

Asked if Paul will stick around to watch Romney’s acceptance speech on Thursday, Benton says that’s “still up in the air.”

Paul-supporting delegates attending the convention have been advised to be respectful, defend their positions, and don't be “pushed around.” Many are excited to see other Paul supporters from across the country and will attempt to introduce themselves to other Republicans. 

“There’s been a lot of confusion on what we represent,” said Carl Bunce, Paul’s Nevada state chair and delegate to the convention. “We’ll be going to some of the cocktail parties and getting our message out there. We have to let people know what type of people we are versus the stereotype.”

Crafting the RNC's platform
Another delegate attending the convention, Chris Stearns, was Paul’s Virginia State director and has been tasked by the campaign to lead efforts on the RNC platform committee.

“This is going to be a very significant business trip for me,” Stearns said. “I’m looking forward to helping craft the platform with Dr. Paul’s message of constitutional government, making sure it’s well represented in the party platform.”

As to whether a majority of the party has accepted some of those views, including auditing the Federal Reserve and requiring a formal declaration of war before committing military forces overseas, Stearns seems confident that message has become mainstream.

“Everybody that I’ve dealt with has been very approachable, very friendly and it’s amazing. The Republicans in this country have really shifted from the Bush era … and are taking constitutional- and liberty-minded principles very seriously.”

This week, delegates included planks to the Republican Party’s 2012 platform draft that embrace some longtime goals of Dr. Paul’s -- an annual audit of the Federal Reserve and the creation of a commission to consider returning the U.S. dollar to the gold standard -- which will be voted on by the full convention next week. 

Reacting to the inclusion of his dad’s policy goals into the Republican document, Sen. Rand Paul wrote, “This is great news and is long overdue.”

Citing a quote from playwright Victor Hugo that his dad frequently used on the campaign trail, Sen. Paul added: "'You can resist an invading army; you cannot resist an idea whose time has come.’ The time for Fed transparency has come.”

Mitt Romney’s campaign had a heavy presence this weekend in Nebraska to help ensure that Texas Rep. Ron Paul would not have the chance to have his name put forward as a potential GOP presidential nominee at next month’s convention in Tampa.

At least five staffers, including campaign lawyer Ben Ginsberg, attended the Nebraska state convention this weekend, where the state’s Republicans were formally selecting delegates to send to Florida. Paul needed to win a majority of the delegates in Nebraska to add to the four other states he had won, and meet the five-state threshold he needed to at least maintain his longshot bid for the Republican nomination.

When all the votes were counted, the Texas congressman only won two of Nebraska’s 35 national slots – despite rallying supporters the night before on a conference call. 

Nebraska Republican Gov. Dave Heineman did not attend the convention, but reportedly “worked actively behind the scenes to personally contact Nebraska Republicans who made the delegate selections.” As the first Republican governor to endorse Romney, Heineman wanted to avoid embarrassment and deliver his home state.

“We had a primary process,” Heineman said. “Mitt Romney won that and Ron Paul didn’t win a single state. I wanted Nebraska to reflect that.”

State party officials had security concerns due to the intense interest of Paul supporters after being warned by Republicans in other states their event may encounter “significant disturbances.” They initially planned to hire additional security guards to patrol the convention, but the idea was withdrawn days later and the convention concluded at the Riverside Golf Club in Grand Island with no major problems.

“We did it the Nebraska way. In Nebraska, we can have our disagreements but, at the end of the day, we work together,” state GOP chair Mark Fahleson told the Omaha World Herald.

Paul revealed that his staff has spoken indirectly with the Romney campaign about the national convention and described their organization as “very insecure.”

“They want to build a party and they preach this thing about big tent -- it's not like I'm preaching socialism,” Paul said Friday on Fox News, addressing fears over his presence in Tampa. “I am … for doing exactly what Republicans claim they believe in. So it is sort of ironic. … Why can’t we have a little debate?”

The Paul campaign claims to have 500 supporters as delegates – most bound by state party rules to vote in favor of Mitt Romney for president – and on Friday, the leader of this movement hinted at the influence they can have on nominations for vice president.

“The rules dictate who gets to be nominated … not only for a president, but for vice president as well,” Paul declared.

RNC Rule 40 (b) states that “each candidate for nomination for President of the United States and Vice President of the United States shall demonstrate the support of a plurality of the delegates from each of five (5) or more states, severally, prior to the presentation of the name of that candidate for nomination.”

The Paul campaign believes they have a plurality of delegates in at least nine states and are also represented in non-Romney slates of delegates from other states headed to the national convention. These activists originally supported someone other than Romney during the primaries and aren’t bound by state party rules to vote for the former Bain executive’s vice presidential pick,  which could present a challenge to Romney during the symbolic procedure of officially endorsing the nominee’s pick for vice president. 

Nebraska Republicans will select delegates on Saturday to send to the national Republican convention, a process that could amount to Ron Paul's last stand as a presidential candidate.

If Paul wins a plurality of delegates in Nebraska this weekend, his name will be put forth as a nominee versus Mitt Romney in Tampa. If his team can't secure enough delegates on Saturday, his longshot bid for the Republican presidential nomination is formally dead.

Nebraska is the last state to hold a convention and its 32 delegates are not required to match the May 15 “beauty contest” primary, where presumptive nominee Mitt Romney won 70 percent of the vote.  However, prospective delegates must indicate their presidential preference and are bound to vote for that candidate for the first two ballots at the August Republican National Convention.

According to RNC Rule 40, Paul needs a plurality of delegates from five states for his name to be put forth for nomination at the convention. The Texas Congressman has won a majority of state delegations in Iowa, Maine, Minnesota and Louisiana. If he is nominated, Paul will be allotted fifteen minutes to deliver a speech at the convention before the first round of balloting.

Local reports say both Romney and Paul supporters have been “burning up the phone lines” making calls to delegates to assess who they’re voting for before the state convention in Grand Island.

Support for Paul could embarrass Governor Dave Heineman, who was the first Republican governor to endorse Romney. 

"I welcome the Tea Party and Ron Paul supporters," Heineman said. "That's great for our party. But it's time to be good sports and get behind Governor Romney.”

When Republicans arrive at the Riverside Golf Club for the convention they will be met with additional security, hired by the state party in anticipation of a Paul insurgency. 

“It’s been communicated to us from other RNC members from around the country to watch for specific things,” Jordan McGrain, executive director of the state Republican Party, told NBC News.

“Their experience has been instructive to us. We’ve received correspondence from those who attended the Nevada and Louisiana state conventions where they had significant disturbances and problems. It arose from not everyone being on the same page and we have the benefit of that hindsight.”

Paul supporters have been blamed for picking arcane rule fights, which dragged out the state convention in Nevada and led to a brawl in Louisiana.

The 76-year-old congressman stopped actively campaigning in May, urging supporters to remain involved in politics to “become delegates, win office, and take leadership positions” and has focused resources on state conventions.

The date of Nebraska’s GOP state convention has not been lost on some Paul supporters, who point out July 14 is Bastille Day – “Vive la Revolution!” It’s up to Nebraska Republicans to determine whether Ron Paul’s Revolution will be loudly heard at the Tampa Bay Times Forum in August.

Ron Paul’s third campaign for president may not lead to the Texas Congressman being nominated at the Republican Convention in Tampa this August -- notwithstanding a lawsuit filed by supporters in attempt to make that happen -- but, from Maine to Alaska, the “Paul Revolution” has swept state Republican parties.

Out of the national spotlight, Paul activists have mastered obscure local party rules to win key positions of power at state conventions, infiltrating the Republican establishment across the country, including in the key swing states of Iowa and Nevada.

In Massachusetts, they even beat out many prominent pro-Mitt Romney supporters to win spots as Romney delegates. They are informally bound by party rules to vote for Romney still, but the open secret in both parties, is no one is really bound – one of the issues at the heart of the Paul supporters’ lawsuit against the national party.

Ben Margot / AP

Supporters of Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, cheer as Paul speaks at the University of California at Berkeley, Calif.

Paul’s strategy has always been to motivate “the remnant” to gain influence by getting involved in party politics, and described how that would happen to a small group of reporters in Columbia, S.C., in mid-January.

“We don't win over the insiders by becoming like an insider,” Paul said. “We win the inside over by making the outsiders become more appropriate.”

But what Paul activists have done in many places is learn the rules of the insiders and use them against them.

After being described as “an outlier for the Republican Party,” Paul Wednesday morning on MSNBC, explained how supporters will achieve his long-term goal of bringing the GOP around to accepting his political philosophy.

“I want to work on the platform,” Paul said, “but we know platforms don't change people's attitudes. That's what we want to do -- get attention to changing the attitude, so that we, who are perceived as outliers, become the insiders. And that's what's happening. … We're winning state delegations, state chairmen and small offices, anywhere from city councils to county commissioners.”

Paul supporters are winning elections and becoming party insiders: chairmen, national committeemen, executive board members, elected officials, candidates and delegates.

- In Iowa, four of Paul’s former aides hold leadership positions at the state party, including chairman A.J. Spiker – who was Paul’s state co-chair. At least six members of the Iowa State Central Committee are Paul supporters.

- In Alaska, Republicans voted Russ Millette as the party’s new chairman and Debra Holle Brown as co-chair, both Paul supporters. Local reports call this a sea change in state politics, after “at least 12 years of the Alaska GOP being run by what those party newcomers call ‘establishment Republicans.’”

- In Nevada, Paul supporters won 13 of 14 new elected executive board spots at the Clark County GOP. Four years after having the lights turned out on them at the state convention in 2008, Paul supporters now hold positions at local and county GOP offices across the Silver State.

- In Minnesota, the state Republican Party endorsed Paul supporter and economics teacher Kurt Bills for the GOP Senate nomination. He will face incumbent Democrat Amy Klobuchar in November.

- And in Maine, 21-year-old Paul supporter Ashley Ryan was elected as the state’s new Republican national committeewoman. The Paul campaign claims she is likely the youngest national committeewoman.

“Look at the next generation,” Paul said on MSNBC. “I mean, there is so much excitement out there. The big deal is that the next generation are sick and tired of what they're getting and they're looking for something.  And what we're offering seems to appeal to the young people.”

Paul also explained that the goal of his movement “is to show that there's a political benefit toward accepting some of the views that we have.”

“I believe we're actually doing a favor for the Republican Party. If they would look to us for guidance and to realize that if they would accept some of these things, they might have an easier time winning.”

That said, not everyone's sold on just how lasting the impact of the "revolution" will be, considering Paul wasn't able to win a state in the GOP primary and didn't stop Romney, the most establishment of all the candidates, from becoming the nominee.

Asked which mattered more -- influence over party platform or being a state party chairman, Steve Schmidt, John McCain's 2008 campaign manager, dismissed either and said Paul supporters would be little more than a "hassle we'll have to deal with."

"I'm not sure that either have a particularly big influence on the direction of the party," Schmidt said on MSNBC. "When you have a state chairman who takes over a state party and the state party's dysfunctional, it's no longer relevant to the political goals of electing a majority, whether that's on the Democratic side or Republican side. Typically you see something that is taking place in California, for example, where you know the Republican parties become a small ideological clubhouse, totally faded to irrelevance where they-- factions gather twice every year to pass resolutions, denouncing the other faction, and it's a small clubhouse where people are relevant in the sphere of that small clubhouse, but no longer relevant in terms of being able to shape the outcome of an election -- to recruit candidates, to raise money, to register voters. And that's the direction these dysfunctional parties will go."

Jeff Johnson, a Republican National Committeeman from Minnesota, though, addressed the anxiety some in the establishment have over this increased participation by Paul’s followers.

“Ron Paul haters, get over it,” Johnson said. “If we don’t grow, we die as a party.”

Nearing the end of his career, Paul, 76, calls his movement an “ideological revolution,” one he says is “alive and well.”  

And this year, as Paul disciples become more involved and win elections, it’s a movement the Republican Party is being forced to deal with. 

Texas Rep. Ron Paul said Monday that he'll cease campaigning in upcoming caucuses and primaries, an announcement of symbolic, if not substantive, significance.

Paul, the libertarian-minded congressman who'd sought to convert his grassroots support and fundraising prowess into electoral success, sent a letter to supporters announcing he'd stop spending money on forthcoming nominating contests.

"Moving forward, however, we will no longer spend resources campaigning in primaries in states that have not yet voted. Doing so with any hope of success would take many tens of millions of dollars we simply do not have," he said in a statement.

The announcement changes little, though, for the Paul campaign. While the candidate had continued to hold rallies in Texas and California -- at which, his campaign boasted, thousands of attendees would appear -- those events were sporadic at best. Moreover, Paul had hardly been a regular presence on the campaign trail since the earliest contents, and he had largely eschewed primaries in favor of caucuses, where his enthusiastic supporters threatened to influence the outcomes.

But Paul never won any of those caucuses, and his campaign turned its attention in recent weeks to the obscure process of delegate allocation on the state level. The Texas congressman said Monday that his team would continue in its bid to accrue delegates.

"Our campaign will continue to work in the state convention process.  We will continue to take leadership positions, win delegates, and carry a strong message to the Republican National Convention that liberty is the way of the future," he said.

Paul's endgame in pursuing delegates (affecting the platform, maybe, or even winning a spot for him or his son on the Republican ticket) is far from clear. Paul announced last year that he would not seek re-election, spurring speculation that his son, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, who was elected in 2010, might inherit the Paul political organization.

Whatever happened to Ron Paul? Remember him?

Beginning tonight at California State University, Chico, Paul will accelerate the pace of his campaign and attempt to become part of the national conversation once again. Over the next 40 days Paul will hold rallies at 16 college campuses across the country -- a majority of them in California and Texas -- with plans of adding several more stops before schools adjourn for the summer. 

Universities have been a friendly atmosphere for the 76-year-old presidential hopeful who attracts thousands of people to his rallies but who has yet to win a single statewide GOP contest.

“You have to reach out to more people than the Republican base,” Paul told WMAL Radio on Monday. “We’re going to have big turnouts in places where no other Republican can go. I’m going to go to Berkeley.”

Paul will hold a campaign rally on that campus Thursday -- not a typical stop for Republican presidential candidates.

According to Paul’s campaign chairman Jesse Benton, that’s the point. “Part of the reason we are going to college campuses is to register people. There are congressional districts we can win and we hope to register thousands of young people for the California primary.”

The deadline to register to vote for California’s June 5 presidential primary is May 21, and the campaign hopes the passionate young supporters they register will help Paul win a portion of the state’s 159 delegates –- which will be allocated based on the primary results in each of the 53 congressional districts.

The campaign is also focusing its efforts in Paul’s home state of Texas, which holds the second-largest number of delegates, scheduling six rallies at state universities. 

Paul is also planning a statewide TV ad buy next week, six weeks ahead of the open primary on May 29. 

Benton, who also resides in the Lone Star state, said Texans are “slow to embrace a moderate from Massachusetts and they want to vote for a Texan.”

“We are going to push real hard to let them know they have a strong, fiscal conservative Texan in the race.”

Benton said the campaign is adding staff in Texas and he will be heading up the state’s operation. 

Looking even further down the calendar, Paul plans to speak at five state conventions in an effort to win over delegates to secure the minimum threshold needed to be nominated at the Republican National Convention in August. 

“We don’t plan to get out of race until Dr. Paul is the nominee or someone else is the nominee,” Benton said. “The scores of people across the country want to vote for a constitutionalist, a real conservative, who can bring real change to the White House and they deserve to be heard.”

That said, Paul has won just 34 delegates so far, according to NBC's count. Mitt Romney has 490, Rick Santorum 203, and Newt Gingrich 137.