Draft Ron Paul movement
The Draft Ron Paul movement refers to any of several grassroots efforts to convince United States Congressman Ron Paul of Texas to run for particular office, often president of the United States, as in the 2008 and 2012 elections. Early draft movements Paul was originally drafted to run for Congress as a nonincumbent in elections in 1974, April 1976, and 1978. Democrat Robert Gammage, who lost to Paul in 1978 by some 300 votes, stated he had underestimated Paul's support, particularly among local mothers: "I had real difficulty down in Brazoria County, where he practiced, because he'd delivered half the babies in the county. There were only two obstetricians in the county, and the other one was his partner." After four terms in Congress, Paul was drafted in 1987 to run for U.S. president with the Libertarian Party. On the ballot in 46 states and the District of Columbia in 1988, Paul's campaign placed third in the popular vote with 432,179 votes (0.5%), behind Republican winner George H. W. Bush and Democrat Michael Dukakis. In 1995-6, Paul was drafted to run for Congress again, with support from baseball pitcher, constituent, and friend Nolan Ryan (as honorary campaign chair and ad