Congressman Ron Paul quietly cruised to a third place finish in Iowa Tuesday night gaining 21% (more than 26,000) of the votes. I say “quietly” not because the Paul camp is ever really “quiet” about anything, but because the close race at the top all but overshadowed the fact that the Texas Congressman cemented his place as a player in this race going forward.
Don’t get me wrong. I think this will be the high water mark for the Paul campaign. I just think it’s only fair to give credit where credit is due. 21% of the vote is no small accomplishment. I had him somewhere between 18% and 21% heading into this thing, but only because I respect the passion of his supporters. Most did not. I think Paul will certainly raise a few eyebrows with this finish – that is, once the focus shifts from vote counting back to reflecting on how the rest of the field fared.
On to New Hampshire and South Carolina where we will all see if his base is as broad as his supporters no doubt expect it to be.
[...] and for his running a “positive campaign”, Gingrich muscled up to the podium to address Congressman Paul and Governor Romney. Praise was not as free-flowing. Instead, Gingrich laid down a gauntlet, of [...]
[...] Ron Paul Takes Third in Iowa Caucus [...]