Ron Paul has been a thorn in the side of Mitt Romney's presidential run for years, but a new poll suggests that should the Texas congressman launch an independent candidacy it would actually help Mitt Romney.

The Rasmussen survey of a hypothetical three-way race for the White House shows Romney with 44%, President Obama with 39% and Ron Paul with 13%.

Ron Paul has not pulled out of the race for the GOP presidential nomination, although his chances of capturing the nomination are becoming increasingly remote.

The national survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on May 6-7, 2012 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.

If you could have a Secret Service nickname what would it be?

Republican presidential candidate and Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who opted out of Secret Service protection because he thought it was a "form of welfare," jokingly said on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno"  Tuesday he would like to be called "Bulldog."

"I would go after the Federal Reserve and all that big spending," Paul said. "I'm an ordinary citizen and I think I should pay for my own protection."

There were plenty of laughable moments during Paul's interview. Leno compared a picture of Paul in his bathing suit to a recent and unflattering photo of Sen. Rick Santorum lounging around the pool in Puerto Rico without a shirt.

Leno also played a video with Paul's head superimposed onto a karate fighter, but these antics did not distract Leno from questioning Paul about issues like birth control and how he felt about other presidential candidate's policies.

Paul admitted he did prescribe birth control and the morning-after pill while practicing as an ob-gyn in Texas.

"I was also putting myself out of business, all this birth control," said Paul, adding, "They had less babies." (read more)

Ron Paul is downplaying the idea that any kind of finality should be associated with Super Tuesday, "We're going to find out something very special today, but this won't be the end all, this is a long term operation," the Texas Congressman told supporters on Tuesday.

Paul made the remarks while campaigning in Idaho, one of the 10 states holding presidential primary elections or caucuses today. The libertarian leaning candidate also maintains that in some states, such as Maine and Nevada, which have already conducted straw polls and had him finishing in second or third place, he may actually end up winning the most delegates. "There are several where we may well win the delegation because we have a lot of organization and they're going to work their way through and they're going to go to the county convention and the state convention..."

If Mitt Romney pulls out wins in the big prizes of Ohio and Tennessee tonight, along with his expected victories in Vermont, Massachusetts and Virginia, his supporters will be once again be pushing the image of the former Massachusetts Governor as the inevitable GOP nominee.

There will also be many pushing the idea that the primary process has turned into an ugly fight that is hurting the Republican brand. (read more)

Ron Paul discussed a conversation he had with Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow while discussing homeschooling at a campaign event Monday night.

At a town hall discussion at the Civic Auditorium of Idaho Falls, Idaho, Paul spoke on his pro-homeschooling views, saying arguments that homeschooled children receive inadequate education have been disproven.

He then mentioned his conversation with Tebow, in reference to an argument that homeschooled kids don't get the chance to participate in sports.

"You know I was talking to a football player the other day and I think he's rather famous now," he said. "I think it’s Tim Tebow, something like that, and of course, of course most people know he was homeschooled and he's doing pretty well for himself."

The Paul campaign told Fox News Tebow's manager, who is a Paul supporter, arranged a friendly phone call between the Republican candidate and the NFL star.

On the eve of Idaho's caucus as part of the 'Super Tuesday' contests, Paul said he enthusiastically believed his campaign 'had to do well tomorrow' in Idaho based on the event's turnout. (read more)

SAINT CLAIR SHORES, Mich. - In one of his most pointed attacks to date, Rick Santorum lashed out at Mitt Romney and Ron Paul, accusing both GOP rivals of teaming up together in order to tear him down.

To help prove his point, Santorum singled out Congressman Paul's campaign spots now flooding the airwaves in the Wolverine State.

"He's not campaigning in Michigan, yet he's running ads in Michigan against me," Santorum said during a Tea Party rally here.

"You just have to take a look at what his real objective is. If it's really going after trying to fundamentally change Washington, why is he being the wingman for Mitt Romney all throughout this campaign," he added. "So let's see who's calling who a fake."

Santorum fired off plenty of shots at Romney too, claiming the former Massachusetts governor's new tax plan looks like something crafted by the Occupy Wall Street movement.

"He said we're gonna make it revenue neutral, well how are you gonna do that," Santorum asked. (read more)

Texas Congressman Ron Paul says he planned on skipping CPAC for weeks, choosing instead to focus on his chances in Maine. Paul was the only GOP presidential candidate who did not attend CPAC this week.

In an interview on "America's News Headquarters" today, Paul explained that he knew this was going to be a busy time in the campaign with a lot of travel.
He "just felt it was better to concentrate on the campaign," continuing to "galvanize" the young people he meets on the trail.

Paul hopes the time he has spent in Maine will bring his first win this primary season. "I'm not going to make an absolute prediction of what's going to happen," Paul said. "But I know we have a very good chance at winning, but we're going to have to wait and count the votes."

Winner or not, Paul expects to get more delegates tonight. He doesn't see the Maine Caucuses as a defining moment in this campaign, and says that if he doesn't win he doubts he will make a decision about his campaign's future.

Paul describes the primary as being in "disarray" and for now his campaign is "working hard to accumulate delegates," but wouldn't commit to saying he will "ride all the way to the convention."

With Florida behind them, the GOP presidential candidates head into another round of contests in February.

First up is Nevada, which holds its caucus this Saturday, February 4. Mitt Romney may be able to continue his momentum from his Florida win into frontrunner status in the state, which has a strong Mormon voting bloc. Also on Romney's side is the fact he won the state during his 2008 presidential campaign.  

However, Ron Paul's campaign says he also has a strong presence in Nevada, as well as support among LDS voters. Romney aides reportedly consider Paul to be a contender in the state. 

Maine also begins its week-long caucus Saturday, which concludes on February 11. Romney may also gain front-runner status in this race, as he is the only native New Englander campaigning. He also won the primary in nearby New Hampshire.

Colorado holds its caucus on February 7. This swing state has been eyed by some of the hopefuls as a place to gain an edge. Rick Santorum in particular has focused on Colorado recently, releasing a scathing attack ad against Gingrich in the state Tuesday. He has also gained the support of Focus on the Family leader James Dobson in Colorado Springs. Romney reportedly considers the Colorado vote crucial in the general election against President Obama. (read more)

Unlike the other republican presidential hopefuls, you didn't find Ron Paul in Florida this weekend. Instead, he campaigned in Maine as he continued to focus on winning delegates in states that hold caucuses.

"We could send a loud and clear message if we can carry this state in the caucuses," the Texas representative said Saturday at a speaking engagement in Alfred, ME, a state where he hopes to win a majority of the 24 delegates it awards on February 11.

At last Monday's NBC debate in Tampa, FL, Paul commented that delegates are what counts. This strategy has led him to skip campaigning in Florida before Tuesday's winner-take-all primary and instead visit the caucus state of Colorado that day.

Paul will appear at a series of events throughout the Rocky Mountain state visiting Fort Collins, Denver, and Colorado Springs.

Colorado holds its caucus on February 7, where it will award 36 delegates.

Paul hasn't won any of the first three contests, but hopes to tally up enough delegates to win the nomination or at least be a major player in selecting the GOP nominee in case no candidate reaches the 1144 delegates required to secure the nomination.

Additional states holding caucuses include Nevada, Minnesota, and Washington, among others.

Ron Paul is coming off the campaign trail in South Carolina in order to return to Washington so he can vote against giving President Obama the authority to increase the debt-ceiling.

The Paul campaign announced the move Tuesday afternoon and tells reporters the Texas Congressman will travel to Washington on Wednesday and return to the Palmetto State early Thursday morning for the final three days of campaigning before election day.

"The issue of debt and spending are uniting Republicans and independent voters to stand up and say ‘enough.' The Washington establishment has for far too long gambled away Americans' hard-earned wages while going so far as to present the children and grandchildren of workers with a dim future saddled with debt," said Ron Paul 2012 National Campaign Chairman Jesse Benton. "Ron Paul is taking real action to stop the debt wherever he can while his rivals for the Republican nomination pay only lip service."

The Obama Administration recently announced the President intends to exercise his option to increase the debt limit by $1.2 trillion. (read more)

The last 36 hours for David McGowan have been pretty crazy.  The newly installed Nevada state director for the Rick Santorum campaign didn't have his job before Tuesday's Iowa caucus.

He's got it now.

"I really feel that there's a movement here for conservatives looking for someone to lead them," McGowan said from his cell phone that's been jammed with calls and texts the last couple of days.

McGowan said he's still trying to find office space for the campaign and organize the scores of volunteers and others who'll be needed to work for Santorum in advance of Nevada's Republican caucus on Feb. 4. 

"We feel that people are out there. They're going to find us as much as we're going to find them," he said.

Santorum's Silver State momentum runs square against longstanding frontrunner and Iowa caucuses winner Mitt Romney. The former Massachusetts governor won the Nevada contest in 2008 and has made multiple visits since. 

"I feel good about where we are," Romney senior adviser Ryan Erwin told Fox News. Erwin said the campaign's volunteer efforts are strong but acknowledges that more work needs to be done in the next month.  (read more)