The Hill News

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) said he hasn't given much thought to a presidential campaign as an independent, but called laws making a third-party bid more difficult a "shame."

Paul, who announced that he wouldn't seek reelection to his House seat in order to focus on his presidential campaign, hinted at the possibility of a third party campaign for the White House if he doesn't win the GOP nomination.

"Some states preclude it; if you sign on and become a Republican candidate, then the law says you can’t become an Independent," Paul said on the Fox Business Network. "I have not really looked into that because I have not been thinking along those lines, but I think it would be a shame if you couldn’t do that."

The Texas congressman's campaign is seen as a relative longshot bid for the presidency, though Paul commands a loyal and intense base of supporters who've helped him build a small political organization.

Whether that organi! zation could translate into a credible third-party campaign is unclear. If nothing else, it could threaten to detract votes from the eventual nominee in a way that Democrats alleged Green Party candidate Ralph Nader had done in 2000.

Paul decried, though, the lack of ballot access for third party candidates as one of the "shortcomings" in u.S. politics, but said he'd continue to voice his libertarian strain of politics, regardless of his membership in the House.