Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul will spend only "limited money'' in Florida, a winner-take-all state in which first place comes with the grand prize of 50 delegates.
Paul is pursuing a long-term strategy in which he collects delegates in states that award them proportionally, where even a second- or third-place finish comes with some delegates. That strategy is unlikely to win Paul the nomination, but it could give him leverage at the 2012 Republican convention.
Florida lost half of its delegates for scheduling an early Jan. 31 primary that bucks national party rules.
"Dr. Paul will compete in Florida and do well,'' Paul spokesman Jesse Benton wrote in an e-mail on Sunday. "With the delegate penalization, Florida becoming winner-take-all with only 50 delegates, we will spend limited money and stick to largely grassroots campaigning. Our campaign will focus financial resources on South Carolina, Nevada, Maine and other states heading into Super Tuesday.''
Paul came in third in the Iowa caucus and is running second in the polls in New Hampshire, which votes on Tuesday. South Carolina votes next on Jan. 21; Florida votes on Jan. 31.
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