Congressman Ron Paul, R-Texas, announced his intention to run for the Republican nomination for president of the United States last week on C-SPAN's "Washington Journal" program.

Paul served as a U.S. representative in 1976 and from 1978 to 1984. Paul ran for the U.S. presidency in 1988 as a libertarian. In January, Paul formed an exploratory committee to look into running for president in the 2008 election, according to his Web site.

The former surgeon and current U.S. representative for the 14th Congressional District of Texas is widely known as an honorable politician and exception to the Gang of 535, said former Treasury Secretary William Simon.

"Ron Paul is a true American statesman," said Don Zimmerman, who ran for Texas representative in District 50 last year. "He has a long history of upholding American values, and I am happy to endorse his campaign." The presidential hopeful plans to re-establish the Constitution as the sole determinant of new legislation. "For Rep. Paul, each piece of legislation must be examined for its constitutionality. If the Constitution does not allow it, then it must be opposed," Zimmerman said.

Paul bases his campaign on a number of freedom principles, including the doctrines that the lives and actions of people are an individual's responsibility, not the government's, and that the government exists to protect liberty, not to redistribute wealth or to grant special privileges, Paul said on his Web site. Tony McDonald, chairman of the Young Conservatives of Texas, said the congressman has a good share of support among conservatives and libertarians on campus.

"Many of us are quite pleased that he is in the race. While some of our more libertarian members may see him as the perfect candidate, I'm mostly happy that he will be there to inject some of the small-government rhetoric into the Republican primary debate that has sadly been lacking lately," McDonald said.

"YCT has endorsed Paul in the past for his congressional seat, and I think I speak for many conservatives when I say that I have the utmost respect for his honesty and his strong convictions when it comes to the principles of freedom and limited government," McDonald said. "That said, some conservatives feel that he may not be a perfect fit for our current situation in the war on terror because of his isolationist tendencies."

Official paperwork was filed with the Federal Election Commission to be considered for the Republican nomination last Monday.

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