Today, according to the Houston Chronicle, Ron Paul provided a message to his contributors that he has decided to suspend actively campaigning for the presidency and will expend no further resources in pursuit of the Republican nomination. However, he intends to continue to try to win delegates at state conventions. His full statement follows:

Ron Paul

“As I reflect on our 2012 Presidential campaign, I am humbled by the supporters who have worked so hard and sacrificed so much. And I am so proud of what we have accomplished. We will not stop until we have restored what once made America the greatest country in human history.

“This campaign fought hard and won electoral success that the talking heads and pundits never thought possible. But, this campaign is also about more than just the 2012 election. It has been part of a quest I began 40 years ago and that so many have joined. It is about the campaign for Liberty, which has taken a tremendous leap forward in this election and will continue to grow stronger in the future until we finally win.

“Our campaign will continue to work in the state convention process. We will continue to take leadership positions, win delegates, and carry a strong message to the Republican National Convention that Liberty is the way of the future.
“Moving forward, however, we will no longer spend resources campaigning in primaries in states that have not yet voted. Doing so with any hope of success would take many tens of millions of dollars we simply do not have. I encourage all supporters of Liberty to make sure you get to the polls and make your voices heard, particularly in the local, state, and Congressional elections, where so many defenders of Freedom are fighting and need your support.

“I hope all supporters of Liberty will remain deeply involved – become delegates, win office, and take leadership positions. I will be right there with you. In the coming days, my campaign leadership will lay out to you our delegate strategy and what you can do to help, so please stay tuned.

For Liberty,
Ron Paul.”

This statement follows this weekend’s activities at the Oklahoma Republican state convention. For those who missed the fun, there was a boisterous crowd of supporters of both Romney and Paul. The GOP leadership decided, rather than provide each individual with a ballot, to conduct a voice vote. In a perhaps unsurprising outcome, the people in charge decided that Mitt had won all 25 delegates. Some people apparently thought that the voting was unfair, and began booing Tim Pawlenty and Oklahoma governor Mary Fallin, who were both scheduled to address the participants. Then, according to the Washington Times, a Romney supporter decided to punch a Paul fan in the back of his head. Then, two women got into a fistfight, which was captured on video (see below).

To continue the festivities in the Southwest, at the Arizona state convention, Mitt Romney’s son, Josh, began to address the Arizona convention. Paul’s supporters decided to heckle him with a chant, ‘Romney is the white Obama.’

Many observers had speculated that Ron Paul’s activities throughout the long nomination battle were intended to help his son, Rand, secure the Vice-Presidential nod. This appears relatively unlikely now that the animosity has turned into physical battles between the two groups.