Something is missing at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  As I strolled by the Old Well and through the Pit where I used to hear all the latest campus gossip and political chit-chat, I just couldn’t put my finger on what was gone.  Am I reminiscing about class this soon after college graduation?  Am I sad that basketball season is still months away?

I forced myself to put nostalgia and the dread of another bad football season aside, and then it hit me. Where are all the fun, spunky and energized Ron Paul supporters?  They rocked out the vote with shirts and banners, yelling to campus why Ron Paul was the best candidate for president.  But ultimately, John McCain won the Republican Party’s nomination.   I miss them now.  Campus—and the election for that matter—feels different without them.

I asked some former Ron Paul for President Group members for their thoughts on the presidential election now that their candidate is officially out of the race.  (Yesterday, Paul said to Fox News that he will not be a third-party candidate this election.)  Many of the responses were less energized than last spring, and some of Paul’s supporters no longer care about the presidential race. 

“At this point, I'm not really paying any more attention to the presidential election since none of the remaining candidates are the type that would get me out to vote, “ Tyler de Friess, 20, said, with an attitude that reminded me of Ron Paul’s at the Republican debates.

“I’m probably going to leave the presidential ballot blank, since there is no other way to show a vote of no confidence in the remaining candidates,” he added.  “I've got to hand it to the people involved in voting for the two main candidates during the primaries, because they really know how to pick the worst possible candidates for this country.”

Instead, de Friess is throwing his efforts into another political race.

“I'm getting involved in a local candidate's campaign as a volunteer for B.J. Lawson's campaign for U.S. Congress.  His views are very similar to Paul's, but he has different issues that he emphasizes more,” de Friess said. 

B.J. Lawson is running against Congressman David Price in North Carolina’s Fourth District.  De Friess said Lawson was the local Ron Paul for President event organizer prior to the start of his own campaign.

Other former Paul supporters remain undecided.   Jessica Kearns, 21, said she might not vote for who she really wants because she needs to make her vote count more in the overall election.

“I would prefer to vote for Bob Barr, but considering how close the election will probably be, it may serve me better to vote for John McCain because I would rather he win than Barack Obama,” she said. 

Crystal Townsend, 24, said she also remains undecided and will use the next couple of months to learn more before she casts her next presidential election ballot.

“I know I will not be voting for the Obama/Biden ticket,” Townsend said.  “I really like Governor Sarah Palin, but I'm a little unsure about voting for McCain.”

And if you thought hope was on the horizon for Paul supporters, think again.  The truth is, although Paul is holding a press conference today where he’ll reveal he wants his supporters to go for a third-party candidate, some of his former supporters around the state won’t even be watching.

“I haven’t really been following Ron Paul lately,” Amanda Busick, a 21-year-old North Carolina State senior said.  “Ron Paul’s strict Constitutionalism and unchanging character is very impressive, but he won’t be helping me make my final choice.  I like McCain’s small-government plan and Obama’s stance on the war.  America needs a new dream for green energy, and my own research on this topic will probably be how I choose a president.”