Ron Paul racks up delegates in Minnesota, supporter wins Senate nomination

Ron Paul backers have secured nearly all of the open delegate slots at Minnesota's state party convention, a coup for the Texas congressman that will strengthen his hand at the Republican National Convention this August.

Paul supporters won 12 of the 13 delegate slots and swept control of the state party — a Paul backer won the party's nomination to challenge Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.).

"This is one of the greatest states that I have witnessed, where I have seen the transition, where the enthusiasm's there," Paul said at the Saturday convention, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

The wins show that while Paul won't campaign in any more states and has publicly admitted he won't be the GOP nominee, his push to have some influence at the convention is far from over — and could create headaches for presumptive nominee Mitt Romney's campaign.

Minnesota's Republican Party has been a mess for quite some time — they were recently served with an eviction notice for failing to keep up with rent on their offices. While party officials have struggled to make ends meet, Paul's supporters have out-organized traditional Republicans in the state — and are poised to have nearly full control of the state party going forward.

Minnesota state Rep. Kurt Bills (R), an ardent Paul supporter, beat the establishment GOP's preferred choice, Army National Guard Captain Pete Hegseth (R), and will go on to face Klobuchar. The freshman senator had already seemed to be in good position for reelection, but the libertarian-leaning Bills's nomination makes her nearly a lock for a second term.

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