And though it might seem like there are only two candidates still in the running, you couldn't tell that to Paul or the thousands of supporters who showed up at the University of Houston to hear him speak.
Ron Paul exceeded his own expectations on a Friday night. The Lake Jackson congressman and presidential candidate drew close to 4,000 people to Hofheinz Pavilion for an hour-long talk about his key principles: liberty, monetary and foreign policy, and the constitution. And they lined up early, long before dark, to get a good seat and hear him unfiltered.
"No disrespect to you, I don't know you from Adam, but a lot of people hate the mainstream media because they have totally not given him a fair shake," Paul supporter James Marshall said.
"It's like Coke and Pepsi, basically, Republicans and Democrats. They want to have more diversity in politics and Ron Paul offers that," Paul supporter Matthew Cunningham said.
Paul says his ideas ring true with young voters especially because they -- above most others -- truly cherish their freedom.
"Most of history you had big government telling people how to run their lives, run the economy, policing the world, militancy around the world; young people just seem to have a healthy disregard for that and a healthy attitude toward, 'It's my life, why don't you leave me alone,'" Paul said.
But with little realistic chance of winning the nomination -- let alone the White House -- those not in attendance at UH might ask why is he still running?
"Because of the support. If there was no support, we wouldn't have money and we wouldn't have anybody turn out," Paul said.
But there is that turnout, certainly evident inside a college basketball arena rarely this full on a Friday night in April.
By most official accounts, Paul has a fewer than 100 delegates. He needs 1,044 to win to GOP nomination.
Among the other questions we asked him was what it would take for him to win the nomination. He said, without any hint of sarcasm, "more votes."
