After over a year of campaigning as the Libertarian Party nominee, Paul received very little media coverage and was excluded from presidential debates.

On Election Day, he was on the ballot in 46 states and the District of Columbia, and finished in third place with approximately 0.5% of the vote, behind Democratic candidate Michael Dukakis and the winner Vice President George H. W. Bush.

During his time in office, Paul followed the political and economic principles of laissez-faire advocate Ludwig von Mises, and gained a reputation as Dr. No, voting against legislation he felt was unconstitutional.

[3] After serving four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, Paul vied for the 1984 Republican Party Senatorial nomination in Texas and gained a reputation as an adept fundraiser.

During his announcement speech, Paul commented that "Big government is running away with our freedom and our money, and the Republicans are just as much to blame as the Democrats."

[13] The pair campaigned side-by-side in Idaho where Paul remarked "that a Libertarian can win the White House in the not-too-distant future."

[18] Alaska state legislator Andre Marrou, one of the party's few elected officeholders, was chosen as the vice presidential nominee.

[17] Paul held one of his numerous press conferences in Helena, Montana, where he pushed for the Reagan administration to balance the budget and cut spending and taxes.

Journalist Tom Curtis described Paul's supporters as "a ragtag coalition of antiabortion activists, tax rebels, anti-war types, gold bugs and other anti-establishment, single issue voters.

During the appearance, he railed against the policies of Washington D.C., commenting that there was no difference between the two major parties, and that both supported "intervention overseas, ... in our personal lives ... [and] in the marketplace."

[22] The next month, vice presidential nominee Andre Marrou traveled to Texas and discussed the Paul campaign's prospects.

Since the chance that either of those candidates would be named as their party's representative seemed unlikely, by this point in the election one of the campaign's priorities was securing a place on the ballot, which they had done in 20 of the 50 states.

Paul arrived in North Florida for a campaign event in early January 1988, with ten months still remaining until the election.

Paul was described as "slim, attractive, graying, immaculately attired and most articulate," but as a candidate who was dismissed by the media for his political positions such as support of the decriminalization of hard drugs.

[25] Paul visited the University of Florida during his trip, and gave a campaign speech in front of 200 students in the auditorium in Turlington Hall.

[26] He was also endorsed by comedian and talk-show host David Letterman,[27] as well as psychologist and counterculture icon Timothy Leary, who held a fundraiser for Paul.

But as Vice President George H. W. Bush and Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis secured their respective parties' nominations, mentions of Paul increased.

In front of 250 people in Kane County, he hailed California's 1978 passage of Proposition 13 as starting the "tax revolt and [sending] a message across the country.

[33][34] During a July press conference in Spokane, Washington, while lobbying for ballot access, Paul promised that as president he would veto spending increases for both domestic programs and the military.

[35] A few weeks later, The New York Times discovered that many former members of the Pat Robertson campaign were helping Ron Paul's candidacy.

They found that the campaign workers were disseminating literature in Michigan that criticized Bush, and stated that Paul would "carry the standard" of the free market.

"[37] Paul held a rally in Salt Lake City that drew 200 supporters, and proclaimed that he "wouldn't be surprised if we got 20% of the vote in Utah.

[28] Back in Congress, Paul regained his nickname of Dr. No, favoring a free market and advocating a reduction in the size of the federal government.