Ron Paul Vows To Stay In 2012 Race Until 'All the Votes Are Counted'; Dodges Romney Endorsement Question

Ron Paul vowed to stay in the 2012 presidential election until 'all the votes are counted, but dodged a question from Bloomberg News about whether or not he would endorse Republican front-runner Mitt Romney.

The libertarian, who is experiencing surge of support in delegates, made the statement after going head-to-head with Nobel Prize-winning economist -- and ideological opposite -- Paul Krugman in a debate about the U.S. economy.

Depends on what his platform is going to be, he said in an interview with Bloomberg's Street Smart. If every single thing in the platform I disagree with, it's gonna be tough [to endorse him]. If it's 100 percent opposite of everything I've said on civil liberties, on war issues, on spending cuts, on monetary policy, what could I do?

He continued: We have millions of people now supporting our campaign, and millions that haven't been heard of because they are independents and Democrats that aren't happy with Obama -- so to support somebody that has 100 percent opposite views of mine, it would be difficult. Hopefully he stick to his guns about not raising taxes.

Although Romney has been accepted by the mainstream media and Republican establishment as the presumptive Republican nominee, Paul has been quietly collecting the support of delegates via caucuses to the Republican National Convention in Tampa.

Romney's gaping lead makes Paul's chances slim to none, but has amassed enough support in Massachusetts, Alaska, Louisiana, Washington, Iowa and Maine so far to show he could make an impact during the convention and influence the party's platform going into the general election.

Paul already won at least half of the delegates in Iowa, Washington and Minnesota long after their primaries ended. According to the American Spectator, 74 percent of the delegates elected to the state convention in Louisiana were Paul supporters. Just over the weekend, less than half of Romney's 27 chosen delegates in Massachusetts won in his home state, according to the Boston Globe, and Paul also appears to be bringing many delegates from North Dakota and Maine.

The news has been very favorable to us. We could even end up winning Iowa, ironically enough, Paul said.

As for Romney, Paul battled rumors a couple of months ago that he was sticking through the primary to help the former Massachusetts governor clinch the nomination by taking votes away from former candidate Rick Santorum. The rumor was particularly fueled by observations that Paul attacked Romney's other rivals in and outside debates than Romney himself.

Santorum strategist John Brabender charged in February that the two had joined forces.

Paul called the claims fiction that has mostly been promoted by someone who I guess is super involved in conspiracy theories.

--