Ron Paul tells supporters "we always win"
(CBS News) FARGO, North Dakota -- Just before the North Dakota polls closed on Tuesday, Ron Paul took the stage at a Fargo-area caucus here to make his final appeal in a state the Texas lawmaker hoped would mark his first win of the presidential primary cycle.
"Are we going to win? We always win!" Paul shouted to about 500 people gathered in a hotel room adjacent to where caucus voting was taking place. Unlike his three Republican rivals, Paul opted out of holding his own rally.
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Trailing speeches by a representative for Romney's campaign and several for Santorum, Paul took to the stage to represent himself in a speech that doubled the allowed 10 minutes per speaker, eliciting screams and cheers from a crowd made up primarily of his supporters. The libertarian hero offered a message that "the government should butt out of our lives," and celebrated that "the cause of liberty is on a roll!"
The Paul campaign had long been optimistic about North Dakota's caucus. The libertarian has tended to do well in caucus states with strong turnouts from his loyal supporters. And while he continues to pick up delegates, Paul is the only remaining candidate in the field not to have won a state.
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That remains the case, as CBS News later projected Rick Santorum would win North Dakota.
Following his remarks in Fargo, Paul and his advisers boarded a plane to Texas in order to watch the rest of the night's results trickle in from home. His next campaign stop is scheduled for Friday in Kansas.
