The 2012 GOP presidential candidates: Where are they now?

Entering the race: Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, officially entered the GOP presidential race on May 13, 2011, saying, "Time has come around to the point where the people are agreeing with much of what I've been saying for 30 years." The announcement changed his status of "exploring" a run for the presidency to actually running.

* New strategy: On May 14, 2012, Paul announced he would stop spending money on the 11 remaining primaries, choosing instead to concentrate his efforts on accumulating delegates. The more delegates Paul wins, the more influence he will have at the Republican National Convention in August.

The Christian Science Monitor reports that Paul has specific goals he plans to advance by staying in the GOP rather than pursuing a third-party strategy. These include making the Republican Party more amenable to his libertarian principles, demonstrating an orderly show of force from his delegates and supporters and shining a spotlight on the Federal Reserve, indefinite detentions and Internet freedom.

Paul's renewed focus on delegates is already in effect, and he collected 12 of 13 delegates at the Minnesota state GOP convention. His victory there means 32 of Minnesota's 40 national delegates will be committed to Paul at the Republican National Convention.