[Reiker000]

Ron Paul wasn't very popular with traditional conservatives, despite absolutely mercing Gingrich, Romney, and Santorum in the debates. However, these are the older, generally undereducated, churchgoing types that plague the gop.

Barack Obama resonates with younger voters, minorities, and the lower & middle class. Republicans really needed a candidate that was on Obama's level. Even Obama's own supporters were becoming a bit disenfranchised with what he was doing the past 4 years. The gop really needed a candidate that appealed to these groups of people to not only win over some of the the "Obama crowd," but also get the votes from the above mentioned conservative folk who pretty reliably stay out of politics other than watching some Fox News and checking every Republican box every 4 years.

Instead, they chose Mitt Romney.

Republicans only had themselves to blame for carrying such a lousy candidate. This election was nearly handed to them on a platter and they were like "Nah... we'll take this Romney guy instead, thanks."

Personally, I probably would have supported Ron Paul over Obama. Not because I'm in 100% agreement with his agenda and policies (neither am I with Obama), but because he's a very intelligent person who I feel for the most part can lead the country in the right direction. I'm sure there were at least a few million other people like me who would have made a big impact in the swing states. If Romney did this well while such a low % of the minority/young/female vote, imagine what Ron Paul could have accomplished.