Factbox: Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul

(Reuters) - Ron Paul, a congressman from Texas, competes in Tuesday's New Hampshire primary election in the race to win the Republican presidential nomination to take on President Barack Obama in November's election.

Here are some facts about him:

* Paul, 76, is considered a godfather of the Tea Party movement for lower taxes and limited government, issues that he has championed for years.

* During campaigning, he has warned of eroding civil liberties, a Soviet Union-style economic collapse in the United States and violence in the streets. He once wrote a book titled "End the Fed," referring to the U.S. Federal Reserve, and has called for eliminating the central banking system that underpins the world's largest economy.

* This is Paul's third bid for the White House. In 2008, he ran for the Republican presidential nomination as an anti-war candidate, raising $35 million in small donations from a fervent group of backers, but failed to win any primary or caucus. He came in third in last week's Iowa caucuses.

* As part of his small government philosophy, Paul has said he will refuse his congressional pension. When working as a doctor he refused to accept Medicare or Medicaid payments and would not let his children accept federal student loans.

* A direct-mail solicitation for a Paul campaign two decades ago warned of a coming "race war" in America and a government conspiracy to cover up the impact of AIDS. Paul is now under fire for connections to extremist right-wing views. He says a ghostwriter on his campaign wrote that document.

* Paul is part of the only father-and-son team serving in the U.S. Congress. His son, Republican Rand Paul, is the junior senator from Kentucky.

* A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Paul settled in Texas, where he began an obstetrics and gynecology practice. He says he's delivered more than 4,000 babies.

(Reporting by Lily Kuo and Deborah Charles, Editing by Alistair Bell)