orenbus
11-04-2014, 02:06 PM
http://online.wsj.com/articles/midterm-elections-2014-rand-paul-is-go-to-republican-for-2014-candidates-1415107374
Midterm Elections 2014: Rand Paul Is Go-To Republican for 2014 Candidates
Kentucky Senator’s Groundwork Helped Him Vault From Tea-Party Star to Serious Presidential Contender in 2016
http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/BN-FJ039_1103ra_WN_20141103234519.jpg
Sen. Rand Paul introduces fellow Kentucky GOP Sen. Mitch McConnell, right, as Mr. McConnell and his wife Elaine Chao look on during a campaign event Monday in Lexington, Ky
Four days before Tuesday’s election, with a number of races balanced on a razor-thin margin, Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul was in a banquet hall in south-central Pennsylvania at the behest of a congressman coasting to re-election.
Mr. Paul and Rep. Bill Shuster had struck up a friendship earlier this year in the outfield at a congressional baseball game. On Friday, Mr. Paul headlined the Franklin County Republican Committee Eisenhower Luncheon in Mr. Shuster’s district.
The appearance reflected Mr. Paul’s status as the go-to Republican for 2014 candidates trying to rally a crowd, raise money and court the tea-party activists and young people drawn to his insurgent message.
Midterm elections serve as prolonged auditions for potential presidential candidates and Mr. Paul’s efforts have vaulted him from tea-party star to serious contender. Over the past two years, he has visited about 30 states to help candidates or his party, collecting a pile of chits along the way.
The only potential 2016 candidate who campaigned in more states this year was New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie , chairman of the Republican Governors Association. This kind of groundwork was arguably more important for Mr. Paul than for other potential GOP candidates because it has helped smooth over concerns about his libertarian views on foreign aid and national security.
In a fitting climax to Mr. Paul’s nationwide politicking spree, he will join fellow Kentucky Republican Mitch McConnell on Tuesday evening as he awaits the returns that could make him Senate majority leader.
Mr. Paul’s endorsement in the state’s May primary of Mr. McConnell—a figure disliked by many grass-roots conservatives—was a defining moment, revealing a willingness to cross his political base to earn goodwill from the political establishment. He also has cut four television ads on behalf of Republican Senate candidates paid for by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a business group that has clashed with the tea party.
“Sen. Paul has been a huge asset in Kentucky and around the country for helping to ensure a new majority in the Senate,” said Josh Holmes, senior adviser to Mr. McConnell and the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
Some tea-party activists, however, say Mr. Paul’s efforts to embrace the party establishment are muddling his image.
“The views there are getting to be mainstream Republican,” said Travis Schooley, a conservative who ran against Mr. Shuster in the GOP primary. “Still, you have to look hard to find someone who speaks as much as he does about the Constitution.”
Mr. Paul dismissed the idea he is risking his credibility, saying that what separates the wings of the GOP is a lot smaller than what sets them apart from Democrats. “I just consider it a privilege to come and meet Republicans in different states,” he said in an interview before the luncheon in Chambersburg, Pa.
Alongside Mr. Paul, likely presidential candidates are jostling for the title of most popular, months before officially launching campaigns.
A top political adviser to Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio , Terry Sullivan, boasted on Twitter recently that Mr. Rubio and GOP Senate candidate Joni Ernst drew twice as many people to an Iowa rally than did former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Democratic candidate Bruce Braley. Mr. Rubio also campaigned in Iowa for a state representative—the grandson of popular Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley.
Mr. Rubio made an early gamble by endorsing Ms. Ernst in Iowa in a crowded GOP primary against the advice of his aides. If Ms. Ernst wins, Mr. Rubio could gain a prominent ally in the first-in-the-nation caucus state.
Meanwhile, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal have also been stumping around the country for Republican candidates. Mr. Cruz also barnstormed Kansas this fall to drum up support for embattled Republican Sen. Pat Roberts, an unexpected turn for a senator popular with activists skeptical of veteran incumbents.
At the Pennsylvania luncheon, Mr. Paul was joined onstage by Gov. Tom Corbett, who is trailing his Democratic opponent. Mr. Paul, however, spent more time criticizing Mrs. Clinton’s oversight of the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya, than he did praising the governor’s record.
Mr. Corbett seemed to acknowledge Mr. Paul was the main attraction. “I just looked at my watch so I don’t take up too much of your time,” he said before the audience in an aside to Mr. Paul.
Midterm Elections 2014: Rand Paul Is Go-To Republican for 2014 Candidates
Kentucky Senator’s Groundwork Helped Him Vault From Tea-Party Star to Serious Presidential Contender in 2016
http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/BN-FJ039_1103ra_WN_20141103234519.jpg
Sen. Rand Paul introduces fellow Kentucky GOP Sen. Mitch McConnell, right, as Mr. McConnell and his wife Elaine Chao look on during a campaign event Monday in Lexington, Ky
Four days before Tuesday’s election, with a number of races balanced on a razor-thin margin, Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul was in a banquet hall in south-central Pennsylvania at the behest of a congressman coasting to re-election.
Mr. Paul and Rep. Bill Shuster had struck up a friendship earlier this year in the outfield at a congressional baseball game. On Friday, Mr. Paul headlined the Franklin County Republican Committee Eisenhower Luncheon in Mr. Shuster’s district.
The appearance reflected Mr. Paul’s status as the go-to Republican for 2014 candidates trying to rally a crowd, raise money and court the tea-party activists and young people drawn to his insurgent message.
Midterm elections serve as prolonged auditions for potential presidential candidates and Mr. Paul’s efforts have vaulted him from tea-party star to serious contender. Over the past two years, he has visited about 30 states to help candidates or his party, collecting a pile of chits along the way.
The only potential 2016 candidate who campaigned in more states this year was New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie , chairman of the Republican Governors Association. This kind of groundwork was arguably more important for Mr. Paul than for other potential GOP candidates because it has helped smooth over concerns about his libertarian views on foreign aid and national security.
In a fitting climax to Mr. Paul’s nationwide politicking spree, he will join fellow Kentucky Republican Mitch McConnell on Tuesday evening as he awaits the returns that could make him Senate majority leader.
Mr. Paul’s endorsement in the state’s May primary of Mr. McConnell—a figure disliked by many grass-roots conservatives—was a defining moment, revealing a willingness to cross his political base to earn goodwill from the political establishment. He also has cut four television ads on behalf of Republican Senate candidates paid for by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a business group that has clashed with the tea party.
“Sen. Paul has been a huge asset in Kentucky and around the country for helping to ensure a new majority in the Senate,” said Josh Holmes, senior adviser to Mr. McConnell and the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
Some tea-party activists, however, say Mr. Paul’s efforts to embrace the party establishment are muddling his image.
“The views there are getting to be mainstream Republican,” said Travis Schooley, a conservative who ran against Mr. Shuster in the GOP primary. “Still, you have to look hard to find someone who speaks as much as he does about the Constitution.”
Mr. Paul dismissed the idea he is risking his credibility, saying that what separates the wings of the GOP is a lot smaller than what sets them apart from Democrats. “I just consider it a privilege to come and meet Republicans in different states,” he said in an interview before the luncheon in Chambersburg, Pa.
Alongside Mr. Paul, likely presidential candidates are jostling for the title of most popular, months before officially launching campaigns.
A top political adviser to Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio , Terry Sullivan, boasted on Twitter recently that Mr. Rubio and GOP Senate candidate Joni Ernst drew twice as many people to an Iowa rally than did former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Democratic candidate Bruce Braley. Mr. Rubio also campaigned in Iowa for a state representative—the grandson of popular Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley.
Mr. Rubio made an early gamble by endorsing Ms. Ernst in Iowa in a crowded GOP primary against the advice of his aides. If Ms. Ernst wins, Mr. Rubio could gain a prominent ally in the first-in-the-nation caucus state.
Meanwhile, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal have also been stumping around the country for Republican candidates. Mr. Cruz also barnstormed Kansas this fall to drum up support for embattled Republican Sen. Pat Roberts, an unexpected turn for a senator popular with activists skeptical of veteran incumbents.
At the Pennsylvania luncheon, Mr. Paul was joined onstage by Gov. Tom Corbett, who is trailing his Democratic opponent. Mr. Paul, however, spent more time criticizing Mrs. Clinton’s oversight of the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya, than he did praising the governor’s record.
Mr. Corbett seemed to acknowledge Mr. Paul was the main attraction. “I just looked at my watch so I don’t take up too much of your time,” he said before the audience in an aside to Mr. Paul.