I think there are actually many of those, most unheard of. Ron Paul had the most popular support, and I agree, he probably had more party support (he was a senator, after all) than Trump. The Trump phenomenon is totally unprecedented in US history, but I'll wager there are historical parallels.
I think the people have a sense that the system is corrupt, run by and for cronies, etc., but at the same time frustrated at having no way to even stick a wedge into it to start to break it up.
The system set the table for itself. Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered.
You mean Ron Paul, the Congressman, not Rand the Senator.
Ron Paul was NOT a senator. He was a Representative from Texas, representing first the 14th and then the 22nd congressional districts.
RAND Paul, his son, is a Senator from Kentucky.