Ron Paul and supporters are thrilled with his 2nd place finish in NH primary

Bill Sikes / AP

Republican presidential candidate, Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, and his wife Carol, left, respond to supporters during an election night really in Manchester, N.H. on Jan. 10, 2012.

Slideshow: Ron Paul

Orlin Wagner / AP

A physician and twelve-term congressman from Texas, the libertarian maverick has launched his third campaign for the office of president.

Launch slideshow

Msnbc.com’s Michael O’Brien reports Ron Paul has leaned on a brew of disenchanted independents, libertarians and young voters to fuel his campaign. But that formula led Paul to a somewhat disappointing third place finish in the Iowa caucuses.

The Texas congressman’s New Hampshire rallies have drawn enthusiastic crowds numbering in the hundreds. But a significant proportion of those voters have come from out of state, and Paul himself has only spent a few days actively campaigning in New Hampshire, spurring doubts over whether he’ll have left undecided votes on the table.

"I don’t know if we took a couple days off as much as we just stuck to our plan," he explained last Friday in Nashua. "We had a plan …We’ve been up here many, many times."

See more pictures from the N.H. primary.