Houston ? Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul said Thursday night he is ending his campaign but will keep spreading his message by working to help elect libertarian-leaning Republicans to public office around the country.

“The campaign is going to shift gears. It’s going to accelerate. It’s going to get much bigger,” Paul told The Associated Press in an interview before a rally where he was making the announcement. “To me, it’s a technical change.”

Paul formally announced the move – his new “Campaign for Liberty” – in a speech to supporters attending the Texas Republican Party state convention.

He said he expected many at his Thursday night rally and other supporters from around the nation to attend an alternative mini-convention he will host Sept. 2 in Minnesota to coincide with the Republican National Convention in St. Paul.