Texas Rep. Ron Paul said he will not run as a third-party candidate in a new message to his loyal, vocal group of supporters.

Paul wrote online that he is making cuts to his national campaign staff and is focused on not losing the primary for his House seat.

“If I were to lose the primary for my congressional seat, all our opponents would react with glee, and pretend it was a rejection of our ideas. I cannot and will not let that happen,” he wrote on his official campaign site.

With just 14 delegates for the Republican nomination that John McCain, with 719, is going to secure, Paul has never stood a chance of being elected, yet has attracted a sizable group of supporters.

“With [Mitt Romney] gone, the chances of a brokered convention are nearly zero,” Paul wrote. “But that does not affect my determination to fight on, in every caucus and primary remaining, and at the convention for our ideas, with just as many delegates as I can get.”

Ron Paul wrote that while he does not denigrate third parties, he is staying a Republican, as he supports low taxes and spending.

While remaining in the GOP, Ron Paul actually ran as the Libertarian Party’s candidate in 1988 against George H.W. Bush and Michael Dukakis, finishing a distant third but earning 431,750 votes.

Some had speculated that due to his libertarian views, opposition to the Iraq war and potent support, Paul might attempt a similar bid this year.

As many liberals believe Ralph Nader’s third-party bid cost Al Gore the White House, a run by Paul would invariably hurt the Republican nominee.