Ron Paul to Come Off Campaign Trail for Debt-Ceiling Vote

Ron Paul is coming off the campaign trail in South Carolina in order to return to Washington so he can vote against giving President Obama the authority to increase the debt-ceiling.

The Paul campaign announced the move Tuesday afternoon and tells reporters the Texas Congressman will travel to Washington on Wednesday and return to the Palmetto State early Thursday morning for the final three days of campaigning before election day.

"The issue of debt and spending are uniting Republicans and independent voters to stand up and say ‘enough.' The Washington establishment has for far too long gambled away Americans' hard-earned wages while going so far as to present the children and grandchildren of workers with a dim future saddled with debt," said Ron Paul 2012 National Campaign Chairman Jesse Benton. "Ron Paul is taking real action to stop the debt wherever he can while his rivals for the Republican nomination pay only lip service."

The Obama Administration recently announced the President intends to exercise his option to increase the debt limit by $1.2 trillion.

Paul, like his rivals, has been campaigning hard in South Carolina, holding town hall meetings in both Spartanburg and Rock Hill on Tuesday. The latest Real Clear Politics average of polling in South Carolina shows the libertarian-leaning congressman in a dead heat for third place with former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum at 14.3%.

They are trailing former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney who leads with 32.3% and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich who is in second with 22%.