Ron Paul Camp Doesn't Plan to Focus on Florida

Florida is not exactly Ron Paul country. The maverick Texas congressman garnered less than 3.5 percent when he ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008. He should do better in 2012 based on early polls, though his campaign is signaling they dont intend to put up much of a fight in the Sunshine State which holds it primary on Jan. 31 -- after New Hampshire votes on Tuesday and after South Carolina has its say on Jan. 21.

The Paul team sent an email to National Journal on Sunday in which they point to the Florida primary being too expensive and being winner-take-all as reasons to focus on other states.

Paul is pursuing a long-term strategy in which he collects delegates in states that award them proportionally, where even a second- or third-place finish comes with some delegates, wrote Beth Reinhard from National Journal. That strategy is unlikely to win Paul the nomination, but it could give him leverage at the 2012 Republican Convention.

Point taken -- but the fact also remains that Florida Republicans, for whatever reason, are pretty hostile to Paul. Besides his poor showing in the 2008 primary, Paul remains unpopular with Florida Republicans, according to a Quinnipiac University poll of likely primary voters released on Monday. Paul stands in fourth place with 10 percent -- far behind leader Mitt Romney who takes 36 percent. While Romney, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum are all seen as favorable by likely Republican primary voters, Paul is upside down. Only 34 percent of likely Florida Republican primary voters see Paul as favorable while 47 percent see him as unfavorable.

Polls show Paul should place second behind Romney in New Hampshire on Tuesday and he should have enough momentum and followers to stay in the contest until the convention. But its clear that Paul wont do well in Florida -- which remains the largest swing state on the electoral map in November.