While overall voter turnout in the Republican primaries and caucuses thus far is 4% lower than in 2008, one candidate's base of support has more than doubled in these four years. A new analysis reveals that Ron Paul has improved on his 2008 performance, often dramatically, in every one of 19 states for which a direct comparison can be made between the two election seasons [1, 2]. In these states, Paul has received a total of 880,000 votes, an increase of 133% over the 377,000 votes he received in these states in 2008. Even in large primary states such as Michigan, Ohio, and Florida - largely overlooked by the campaign due to the expense of competing in these media markets - the Texas congressman received 60,000 more votes in each state than he received in 2008. In smaller states like Vermont, the growth is even more striking, with Paul receiving 15,200 votes in 2012 compared to the 2,600 he received in 2008, a nearly five-fold increase.
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