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. He asked in reference to the portrayal of his party's plank, "what's extreme about a balanced budget?" Paul conceded that he would not win the election but explained that votes for his ticket would give a bigger voice to Libertarian issues in American politics, and that he would only be disappointed if he did not receive at least 5% of the vote in the state. 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. Paul commented in a San Diego Union interview that he "identif[ied]with Robertson" although "he's not a libertarian." Paul spent the beginning of August, campaigning in his home state of Texas.
