Texas Rep. Ron Paul said on Monday that even if Mitt Romney got the delegates to clinch the nomination, he’d still hold on to his own delegates and continue to campaign to the convention in a “modified way.”
“We’re in the third lap of a mile race,” he said on CNBC’s Squawk Box, where he was billed as a "guest host," but mostly ended up answering questions. “Who knows? Maybe someone will stumble, you can never tell.”
Paul has yet to win a state in the nomination process, which he blamed on the dynamics of his coalition. “They’re independents and sometimes they’re Democrats and they don’t feel comfortable coming out for a Republican primary," he said.
Paul holds 63 delegates to Romney’s 685, according to The Associated Press.
“If tomorrow Romney had the absolute number, I would continue in a modified way,” he said. He did not seem inclined to release his delegates, perhaps looking to play a role at the Republican convention. “They’ll have an influence," he said. "They’ll have something to do with the platform.”
He also suggested that part of the reason he was continuing was financial, noting that dropping out doesn't pay. “You don’t get any money, you wind up with debt, and you don’t get these crowds coming out,” he said.
Paul, who has forged a campaign friendship with Romney, repeatedly declined to criticize the former Massachusetts governor directly. When asked whether Romney was a “flawed candidate,” Paul responded: “I think the system’s flawed.”
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