Republicans in Iowa replace 'liberty' faction with new party leaders
Just two years after Ron Paul's eclectic army of activists orchestrated a hostile takeover of the Republican Party of Iowa headquarters, the other factions of the GOP have shown them the door.
Iowa is the first state to fully strip power from liberty-movement followers who led a charge on state parties in 2012.
Today, mainstream and evangelical conservative Republicans named 16 new members to the board that oversees the party machinery. Voting took place at their four district conventions.
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The liberty Republicans' ouster from leadership is expected to affect their ability to set the stage for a White House run for Kentucky U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, who is Ron Paul's son and a likely 2016 candidate. The liberty movement will no longer have full control over invitations to big party events in Iowa, what kind of grass-roots training is conducted, or who gets hired to work at headquarters.
But because the movement's leaders are no longer saddled with running the party, they're free to help the younger Paul. Another silver lining: If Rand Paul wins the 2016 Iowa caucuses, rivals can't credibly discount his victory because of suspicions that party leadership was biased, liberty activists told the Register.
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