Ron Paul's campaign is doubling down on its strategy of targeting far-flung caucus states, announcing Wednesday that it was going up with television commercials in Hawaii ahead of the state's March 13 GOP nomination contest.
The campaign will air an ad — which had already debuted in other early-voting states and highlights Paul's plan to dramatically downsize the federal government — on a mixture of cable and broadcast stations.
“Ron Paul’s ad 'Plan' is an ideal one to air in Hawaii, with its pleasant climate, because it helps separate him from the ‘fair-weather conservatives’ who are unwilling to make the tough decisions that will get our country back on track,” said Paul spokesman Jesse Benton in a statement.
Still, Paul is struggling to maintain relevance in the Republican race after a series of disappointing losses, even in early-voting caucus states where other candidates exerted little effort. Paul placed third in Alaska on Super Tuesday despite being the only candidate to campaign in the state, and Mitt Romney dominated an Idaho contest where he similarly had hoped to be competitive.
Coupled with disappointing losses in Maine and Nevada, Paul has been unable to convert his enthusiastic following into an Election Day win — even in caucus states that favor his type of organization.
Nevertheless, Benton maintained Paul was the only candidate left who could financially hang with Romney through the remainder of the GOP calendar.
“Ron Paul is the only authentic conservative in the race and as demonstrated by his taking the long view toward the Hawaii caucus and other contests, he is the only candidate besides Mitt Romney with the resources and stamina to run an exhaustive 50-state campaign,” Benton said.
