The Next Ron Paul?

Hotline OnCall's Reid Wilson reports that Ron Paul's supporters could rally behind former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson (R), who plans to make stops in Iowa and New Hampshire, but who says he's not running for federal office.

Ron Paul made a splash in '08: even though he may not have affected the outcome of the GOP primary, his campaign revealed a small-government, libertarian impulse in a segment of politically engaged America, if not in the traditional Republican base. It's unclear whether the Tea Party crowd will bear resemblance to the Ron Paul crowd in 2012, but if they rally behind a lesser-known candidate, we could see another Ron Paul crop up in 2012, this time with more activists driving him/her forward.