Election 101: Ron Paul sets sights on 2012. Ten things to know about him.

The ‘intellectual grandfather’ of the tea party movement, Ron Paul is a dark horse pushing for an upset victory.

3. Who, exactly, is his base?

Jonathan Ernst / Reuters / File
Rep. Ron Paul (R) of Texas speaks at the Conservative Political Action conference (CPAC) in Washington, in this Feb. 11 file photo.

Paul is hoping to capture the votes that most of his more mainstream GOP opponents will miss. That means libertarians, young voters, constitutionalists, and tea party purists.

And, says Doherty, Paul has a secret fan base that could tip him into the big leagues: apathetic voters.

“To a large extent, Ron Paul is picking from that crowd – apathetics. If you can find that politically, that’s huge,” says Doherty, saying more than 40 percent of Americans didn’t vote in 2008.

“Even people who aren’t political love his message, and they love him.”

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