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* [[Andy Barr (U.S. politician)|Andy Barr]] of Kentucky<ref>http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/238036-ky-republicans-line-up-behind-paul</ref>
* [[Andy Barr (U.S. politician)|Andy Barr]] of Kentucky<ref>http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/238036-ky-republicans-line-up-behind-paul</ref>
* [[Brett Guthrie]] of Kentucky<ref>http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/238036-ky-republicans-line-up-behind-paul</ref>
* [[Brett Guthrie]] of Kentucky<ref>http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/238036-ky-republicans-line-up-behind-paul</ref>
* [[Justin Amash]] of Michigan<ref>http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/elections/2015/04/07/snyder-victory-mastermind-joins-rand-paul-white-house-campaign/25410299/</ref>
* [[Raul Labrador]] of Idaho<ref>http://www.kunamelba.com/2015/04/kmn-talks-congressman-raul-labrador/</ref>


;Current members of the [[United States Senate]]
;Current members of the [[United States Senate]]

Revision as of 22:18, 8 April 2015

Rand Paul for President
CampaignRepublican primaries
U.S. presidential election, 2016
CandidateRand Paul
U.S. Senator from Kentucky
AffiliationRepublican Party
HeadquartersWashington, DC
Key peopleChip Englander (Campaign Manager)[1]
SloganDefeat the Washington machine. Unleash the American dream.
Website
http://www.randpaul.com/

The Rand Paul presidential campaign of 2016 officially began on April 7, 2015, when U.S. Senator for Kentucky Rand Paul announced his candidacy for President of the United States. Paul became the second major candidate to declare for the office, following fellow U.S. Senator Ted Cruz.[2]

Background

Rand Paul speaking at the 2013 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland on March 14, 2013

Paul first mentioned a possible 2016 presidential candidacy in January 2013.[3] He delivered the Tea Party response to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address on February 13, 2013,[4] prompting some pundits to call it the start of the 2016 Republican primaries.[5] In March he spoke at the 2013 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington D.C.,[6] where he won the presidential straw poll with 25% of the votes cast.[7]

Paul again spoke at CPAC in March 2014.[8][9][10] The day after his speech, he won the presidential straw poll for the second time in a row. With 31% of the votes cast, he won nearly triple the percentage of the runner-up, Texas senator Ted Cruz with 11%.[11][12][13]

The following month, Paul spoke at the GOP Freedom Summit, an event organized by Americans for Prosperity and Citizens United.[14] The event was attended by several potential presidential candidates.[15] In his speech, he insisted that the GOP has to broaden its appeal in order to grow as a party. To do so, he said it cannot be the party of "fat cats, rich people and Wall Street" and that the conservative movement has never been about rich people or privilege, "we are the middle class", he said. Paul also said that conservatives must present a message of justice and concern for the unemployed and be against government surveillance to attract new people to the movement, including the young, Hispanics, and blacks.[16][17][18]

In addition to his own political prospects, in the lead up to the 2014 midterm elections, Paul made a point to campaign for several Senate and Congressional candidates, including Joni Ernst and Rod Blum in Iowa, former U.S. Senator Scott Brown in New Hampshire, David Perdue in Georgia Thom Tillis in North Carolina, Mitch McConnell in Kentucky and Pat Roberts in Kansas.[19] Paul launched a social media campaign titled "Hillary's Losers" which was meant to highlight many of the Democratic candidates that lost their bids for the U.S. Senate despite endorsements from Clinton.[20]

Rand Paul speaking at the 2015 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland on February 27, 2015.

Near the end of 2014, Senator Paul made moves towards a presidential run, including hiring staff in several states, setting up offices, and hiring a campaign manager. In January 2015, Rand Paul gained the support of Texas Republican Party Chairman Steve Munisteri, a move seen as crucial in taking on potential rivals Governor Rick Perry and Senator Ted Cruz, both with deep ties to Texas. Paul hired a digital strategist that previously worked on the Senate campaign for Ted Cruz, Vincent Harris, and a campaign manager, Chip Englander, who led businessman Bruce Rauner's successful campaign for Governor in Illinois.[21] Longtime Paul advisor Doug Stafford will stay on as a senior political advisor to the Paul campaign.[21] Campaign operations have also begun in many of the early states, with the hiring of Steve Grubbs, a former Chairman of the Iowa Republican Party, to run Paul's potential Iowa campaign, Michael Biundo, formerly campaign manager for Rick Santorum's 2012 presidential bid, in New Hampshire, Chris LaCivita, who advised Senator Pat Roberts and Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli in his gubernatorial bid, in South Carolina, and John Yob, a campaign operative, based in Michigan.[21] Through his political action committee, known as Reinventing A New Direction (RAND) PAC, Paul toured many states seen as important in gathering both votes and fundraising dollars.[22]

After former Governor Mitt Romney announced that he would not seek a third presidential bid, political analyst Mark Halperin made a statement that he thought that Paul was the new frontrunner in the New Hampshire primary if it were to be held then.[23]

Rand Paul spoke at CPAC 2015 and received a plurality of votes in the straw poll for his third year in a row, with 26%.[24]

Fundraising

Within the first day of his campaign, Rand Paul raised over $1 million.[25]

Dual candidacy issues

In April 2011, Paul filed to run for re-election to his Senate seat in 2016.[26] If he does become the Republican presidential (or vice-presidential) nominee, state law prohibits him from simultaneously running for re-election.[27] In March 2014, the Republican-controlled Kentucky Senate passed a bill that would allow Paul to run for both offices, but the Democratic-controlled Kentucky House of Representatives declined to take it up.[28][29][30] Paul spent his own campaign money in the 2014 legislative elections, helping Republican candidates for the State House in the hopes of flipping the chamber, thus allowing the legislature to pass the bill (Democratic Governor Steve Beshear's veto can be overridden with a simple majority).[31][32] However, the Democrats retained their 54–46 majority in the State House.[33][34][35] Paul has since given his support to the idea that the Kentucky Republican Party could decide to hold a caucus rather than a primary, potentially giving Paul more time to decide whether he should run for U.S. Senator or continue his bid for President.[36]

Endorsements

References

  1. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/01/13/rand-paul-announces-campaign-manager-as-he-ramps-up-2016-campaign/
  2. ^ Camia, Catalina (April 7, 2015). "Rand Paul announces presidential run". USA today. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  3. ^ Weinger, Mackenzie (January 28, 2013). "Rand Paul: GOP must 'evolve and adapt'". Politico. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
  4. ^ "Tea party State of the Union 2013 rebuttal: Rand Paul response (full text)". Politico. February 13, 2013. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
  5. ^ "Rand Paul: 'Big Government's Not A Friend To Those Who Are Trying To Get Ahead'". All Things Considered. NPR. February 14, 2013. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
  6. ^ Romano, Lois (March 14, 2013). "CPAC 2013: Marco Rubio, Rand Paul fight for the future of the GOP". Politico. Retrieved March 14, 2013.
  7. ^ Montanaro, Domenico (March 16, 2013). "Rand Paul wins CPAC straw poll; Rubio close second". NBC News. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
  8. ^ McLaughlin, Seth (March 7, 2014). "Rand Paul urges conservatives to fight with him for liberty". Washington Times. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  9. ^ Kirell, Andrew. "Rand Paul's Starkly Libertarian CPAC Speech: We Must Defend the Rights of All". Mediaite, LLC. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  10. ^ "Rand Paul Showed Why The Conservative Base Loves Him Today". Business Insider. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  11. ^ Lowery, Wesley (March 8, 2014). "2014 CPAC: Rand Paul wins second consecutive CPAC straw poll". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  12. ^ "Rand Paul still on top, and other takeaways from CPAC 2014". CBS News. March 8, 2014. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  13. ^ "Sen. Rand Paul convincingly wins CPAC presidential straw poll". CNN. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  14. ^ "Ted Cruz and Rand Paul are the big draws at the Freedom Summit". Washington Post.
  15. ^ "Freedom Summit draws GOP hopefuls to N.H." Washington Post. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  16. ^ "Obamacare' under attack as conservatives eye 2016". Associated Press. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  17. ^ "Sen. Rand Paul Says Jeb Bush Was Wrong To Defend Undocumented Immigrants". Fox News. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
  18. ^ "Rand Paul Says Conservatives Need a Bold Message". Associated Press. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
  19. ^ Wollner, Adam (November 5, 2014). "How Did 2016 Hopefuls Do Tuesday Night? Here's Your Scorecard". National Journal. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
  20. ^ Sherfinski, David (November 7, 2014). "Rand Paul: 'Clinton Democrats' became 'Hillary's losers' during election landslide". Washington Times. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
  21. ^ a b c Costa, Robert (January 13, 2015). "Rand Paul announces campaign manager for likely 2016 campaign". Washington Post. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
  22. ^ Rubin, Jennifer (January 9, 2015). "Is Rand Paul going to run?". Washington Post. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
  23. ^ Halperin, Mark (January 30, 2015). "Mark Halperin: Rand Paul Is Now Front-Runner in N.H." Bloomberg. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
  24. ^ "Rand Paul wins 2015 CPAC straw poll". Fox News. February 28, 2015. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
  25. ^ http://www.randpaul.com/
  26. ^ Jennifer Epstein (April 19, 2011). "Rand Paul files for reelection race five years away". Politico.
  27. ^ Manu Raju. "Rand Paul, Marco Rubio face 2016 bind". POLITICO.
  28. ^ Berman, Matt (April 2, 2014). "Marco Rubio Won't Run for Senate in 2016 if He Runs for President". National Journal. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  29. ^ Youngman, Sam (March 18, 2014). "Kentucky Senate passes bill to let Rand Paul run for re-election and president in 2016". www.kentucky.com. Kentucky.com. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
  30. ^ Silverleib, Alan (April 17, 2014). "Dead for now: Kentucky bill allowing twin Paul 2016 runs". www.cnn.com. CNN. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  31. ^ "The Obscure Kentucky Contests That Could Alter Rand Paul's 2016 Plans". National Journal. August 14, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  32. ^ "Will Rand Paul Have to Risk His Senate Seat for the Presidency?". Reason.com. September 2, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  33. ^ "Democrats maintain control of Kentucky House of Representatives". Lexington Herald-Leader. November 4, 2014. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  34. ^ "Democrats hold Kentucky House, a minor blow to Rand Paul's presidential hopes". The Washington Post. November 4, 2014. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  35. ^ "Kentucky looks at primary change that would help Rand Paul". Politico. November 5, 2014. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  36. ^ Janet Hook (February 24, 2015). "Mitch McConnell Backs Rand Paul's Bid to Run for Both Senate, White House". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 26 February 2015. In a shift first reported by the Lexington Herald-Leader, a McConnell aide said the senator had decided to support Mr. Paul's proposal that the Kentucky GOP establish a presidential selection caucus in March separate from the state's May primary for other offices.
  37. ^ http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/238036-ky-republicans-line-up-behind-paul
  38. ^ http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/238036-ky-republicans-line-up-behind-paul
  39. ^ http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/238036-ky-republicans-line-up-behind-paul
  40. ^ http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/elections/2015/04/07/snyder-victory-mastermind-joins-rand-paul-white-house-campaign/25410299/
  41. ^ http://www.kunamelba.com/2015/04/kmn-talks-congressman-raul-labrador/
  42. ^ http://www.politico.com/story/2015/04/mitch-mcconnell-to-skip-rand-paul-2016-kickoff-116554.html
  43. ^ http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2015/04/06/jc_watts_endorses_rand_paul_he_talks_about_things_that_would_get_most_conservatives_voted_off_the_island.html
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