Karger fills out his candidate form in NH Oct. 17 (Jim Cole/AP)Ron Paul not only placed last in Sunday's Puerto Rico primary, he lost to Fred Karger, the former actor and political consultant who has never before held elected office.
Karger, who brands himself as the first openly gay Republican presidential candidate and has failed to garner any significant support this season—let alone qualify for any presidential debates—led Paul 1,702 votes to 1,452 with 83 percent of precincts reporting Monday morning.
Those totals offered Karger and Paul each less than 2 percent of the overall vote, but still Karger was celebrating.
"LOOKS [sic] WE BEAT RON PAUL IN TODAY'S PUERTO RICO PRIMARY," read the Karger campaign Twitter feed.
Despite Karger's bragging rights victory, Romney still won all of the 20 delegates up for grabs Sunday, easily carrying the state with over 98,000 votes or 83 percent total.
But Paul's loss to Karger signals a new low for the Texas congressman.
Though Paul has been much more visible on the national stage and has received significantly more support in previous contests than Karger has, the gay rights advocate and former consultant to Ronald Reagan, George Bush and Gerald Ford made a big push in Puerto Rico's primary, campaigning there in person, circulating sound trucks, and even running a Spanish-language television ad in the territory.
Despite a loyal and enthusiastic following, Paul has yet to place first in any presidential primary or caucus, after staking his success on presidential caucuses.
Paul continues to argue that he and his delegates will play a role at the convention. And he'll have time to prepare: His campaign schedule as of late has been light. He held just two in-person events last week—one in Illinois and one in Missouri.
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