Despite giving up on actively campaigning for president, Ron Paul managed to nab another endorsement.
Paul earned the endorsement of South Dakota state Rep. Jon Hansen (R-Dell Rapids), according to a press release from the Ron Paul 2012 Presidential Campaign Committee.
"I truly believe Ron Paul has the heart of a servant, looking to the best interest of all Americans rather than to his own self-interest," Hansen said in the release. "To restore our country to its constitutional foundation, promote life, support the free market, fix our monetary system, and end war, we must elect Ron Paul for President in 2012."
On May 14, Paul announced he would no longer campaign in primary states that have not yet voted, but urged his supporters to continue organizing in states that have voted in order to win delegates to the national convention.
"We will no longer spend resources campaigning in primaries in states that have not yet voted," Paul said in a statement. "Doing so with any hope of success would take many tens of millions of dollars we simply do not have."
HuffPost's Jon Ward reports:
Paul has had surprising success in states that held contests early in the primary process, winning delegates through the arcane and confusing system that follows a popular vote in many states.
Though it is clear that Romney will be the nominee at the national convention in August, Paul could make waves in Tampa if large numbers of delegates from states that Romney won vote for him instead. In Iowa, for example, Romney came in second to former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) and Paul came in third, but Republicans in the Hawkeye State say Paul will likely have more than 20 of the state's 28 delegates.
Paul's decision to pull back from campaigning is an acknowledgment that it is not a realistic possibility for him to overtake Romney's lead in delegates. But in true Paulian fashion, his statement is the clearest indication yet that while others such as former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and Santorum may have talked about going all the way to the convention, the iconoclast congressman actually intends to do so.
Paul said he hopes to influence the GOP agenda at the 2012 GOP Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida. Reuters reports Paul hopes to have more supporters on the floor at the event in order to have a better bargaining chip to influence the party platform heading into the election.
A top adviser said it is not likely Paul will endorse presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney.
Below, more on the path of Paul's campaign:
