Candidate hosts post-primary event at Jillian's
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Jillian’s patrons had a beer in one hand and Ron Paul poster in the other Saturday night. American flags and red, white and blue balloons added to the party décor of the Vista restaurant where Rep. Paul’s campaign held its primary night event.
“It’s been a good clientele,” said Jessica Pegram, a Jillian’s waitress, regarding the Paul supporters who had taken over the restaurant. She described the crowd as “sophisticated” and added they had good attitudes and left nice tips.
Among the crowd were Harley Grant, a third-year criminal justice student, and Tyler Price, a graduate engineering student. Both are part of Youth for
Ron Paul at USC. Grant and Price simply wanted Paul to place third in South Carolina’s primary.
“If we can edge out Santorum, I’ll be excited,” Grant said before results were revealed.
However, by the end of the night, it appeared that Paul had come in last out of the four remaining major candidates.
In the laid-back restaurant, Paul took the stage to address his supporters, but he didn’t admit defeat and instead reiterated his foreign policy and economic viewpoints.
He also discussed peace and prosperity, which he said the nation would obtain only by understanding and promoting liberty.
"The message of liberty is being received by more people every single day,” Paul said.
And though Paul came in last place, he more than quadrupled his results in the 2008 primary when he received less than 4 percent of the votes. Price said that Paul hadn’t campaigned as much in South Carolina until right before the primary and that he was beginning to concentrate his efforts on other states.
“I get why Gingrich won here,” Price said, adding that South Carolinians’ views on foreign policy and the lack of young voters in the state hurt Paul’s campaign.
“The message he’s spreading is attractive to youth,” Grant said. “All this inflation, all this debt is going to be put off on us. The youth are going to be very vocal about it.”
Price said the voter bloc is still dominated by older voters which contributed to the night’s results.
“I’ve always seen a problem getting young voters out at USC and other places just to vote,” Price said.
At the end of his speech, the crowd began a “President Paul” chant as Paul lingered and signed posters for fans. As the crowd began to disperse, one young supporter yelled out a statement that captured the restaurant’s mood well:
“Paul, y’all.”