The fact that they are so good at spamming polls, and are eliciting support from MoveOn Truthers who see it as an opportunity to infiltrate the GOP process, has caused a stir of interest in Paul. And Paul is making much use if this 'surge'.
But as you point out, he's also his worst enemy, so his core support on the Republican ticket will remain relatively small. The threat he may present is by pulling his support after the convention and running as in independent/libertarian.
Of course, no one really knows what the future holds, but Dr. Paul has a clear and consistent record of honesty, both with his constituents and those of us who want to be his constituents. So when he stated categorically that he would NOT run as an independent or as a Libertarian I tend to believe him.
There are a lot of people who sincerely believe he is not what he appears to be and perhaps you’re one of them. I’m not. I think he’s the real deal and as such, the general population is afraid of the changes he might bring, painting over his American colors with broad strokes of Communist red and cowardly yellow.
Sad.