During the 1992 presidential campaign a business man from Texas gathered political momentum and made a viable attempt at gaining the presidency as a third party candidate. As it turned out, Ross Perot received 19% of the popular vote and is blamed, or thanked, for allowing Bill Clinton to become leader of the free world. Fast forward to 2008 and there is another Texan, with the same two initials, who has the chance to make a similar run, and possibly create a similar outcome as Perot.

Ron Paul has been gaining national attention in the past few months, mostly due to the impressive amounts of money he has recently raised. It looks as if he will not have the showing in the primaries needed to receive the Republican nomination, but he would still be in the running to attempt the presidency as a third party candidate. Paul would have a good chance at drawing similar quantities of votes from similar demographics as Ross Perot. Perot reached across political party lines and gained support from groups of people who rarely shared political views. Ron Paul seems to have a similar draw to voters as Perot.

As in 1992, a third party candidate could attract just enough votes to grant the presidency to a Clinton. Ron Paul may not win the nomination as a Republican, but he still might be a large contributor to the outcome of the 2008 election.