Paul: Third-party bid unlikely if run for GOP nomination falls short

GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul indicated Friday he won’t launch a third-party bid if he fails to win his party’s nomination. 

Paul, a Texas congressman with libertarian views, said it’s “unlikely” he’ll seek out a nomination from a third party since it’s tough to maintain credibility that way.

{mosads}”I think that’s pretty unlikely,” he said when asked about the scenario by Fox News’s Neil Cavuto. “There is too many biases about doing something outside of the conventional system.”

Paul officially announced his presidential bid on Friday during a swing through the first-in-the-nation primary state of New Hampshire.

While many observers say that Paul could outperform his 2008 presidential bid, most believe he won’t win the GOP nomination in 2012 due to his policy views, which are unorthodox for his party.

Paul thinks the nation’s and his party’s views are moving in his direction.

“I think things are definitely much better. The enthusiasm is there. And the attitudes are different. And the problems we have are so overwhelming that I think the support is going to be greatly increased over four years ago,” Paul said on CNN Friday.

Paul has experience with third parties. He ran for president under the Libertarian Party banner in 1988.

But even though there is greater support for his ideas, Paul said it would be too difficult to promote them as a third-party candidate this time around.

“The rules are biased” against third-party candidates, he said.