Breitbart Texas has learned former Congressman Ron Paul is supporting Lt. Governor David Dewhurst in the May 27th runoff race for re-election. Megan Stiles, a spokesman for the libertarian leaning former Congressman, confirmed the support in an email to Breitbart Texas.
Dr. Paul brings a boost to the Dewhurst campaign which has recently been adding major Tea Party endorsements to its list of supporters. It also comes on the heels of the endorsement of Dewhurst by one of his former opponents, Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson. At the same time, Lt. Governor Dewhurst’s political opponent, State Senator Dan Patrick, has gained the endorsements of Texans for Lawsuit Reform and other notable and impactful groups.
Paul retired from Congress in 2012. During his service in the Congress and three campaigns for President of the United States, Ron Paul built a reputation for being a defender of conservative principles including personal liberty, limited government and fiscal responsibility.
In recent weeks, the Dewhurst campaign has been building momentum in support from grassroots groups and TEA Party organizations. The announcement of Dr. Paul’s support in the campaign will likely fan the flames of this shift of political support, though Lt. Governor Dewhurst’s political opponent enjoys a large support base in the Texas grassroots.
Veteran journalist and political observer Scott Braddock, who covers Texas politics at The Quorum Report, told Breitbart Texas the development is significant for a few reasons. “Ron Paul voters are among the most motivated in the state and this runoff is about turnout,” he said. “Congressman Paul had endorsed Patterson in the primary, so I’m not all that surprised that he’s going with Dewhurst on the same day that Patterson formally makes his endorsement of the incumbent.”
“As I traveled the state, it seemed that people who said they were voting for Patterson were affirmatively choosing him and not necessarily just voting against Dewhurst,” Braddock said. “The most important thing here, probably, is that Patterson got about 13 percent of the vote on March 4, which is about how much Dewhurst needs to pull even with Senator Patrick. These endorsements could go a long way toward getting him there.”
During the filming of a soon to be released episode of Ron Paul’s Revolution TV, Dewhurst expressed his long-term admiration for Dr. Paul stating, “Ron Paul, Dr. Paul, has been my champion for years and years and years.” Dewhurst went back to his early political roots in talking about learning conservative values while following the 1964 Barry Goldwater presidential campaign.
Dewhurst pulled out a copy of the U.S. Constitution and quoted sections supporting Dr. Paul’s fight against the Federal Reserve banking system and Paul’s belief in strict limits on the role of the federal government. He also discusses the issue of gold that belongs to Texas being held outside the state of Texas. “In this past session, in 2012 and 2013, I was working with some House members and some senators and a bill was written and moved in the House, HB 3505, which would have required to move some of our university gold that’s in New York, back to Texas.” That bill did not pass in the House. Dewhurst pledged to work with Congress to get Texas’ gold back to Texas in the next session.
Dewhurst’s appearance on Ron Paul’s Revolution TV will be available for public viewing later this week. Dr. Paul is not affiliated with Ron Paul’s Revolution TV and has his own television venture, The Ron Paul Channel.
Breitbart Texas readers are encouraged to visit both campaign websites and see what each candidate has to say.
State Senator Dan Patrick
Lt. Governor David Dewhurst
Follow Bob Price on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.
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